\ 


VESTIGIA 


Uniform  with  this  volume,  by  the  same  author, 

THE   HEAD    OF   MEDUSA. 

A     NOVEL. 
Price  $1.50. 

ROBERTS  BROTHERS,   PUBLISHERS. 


VESTIG  i  A 


BY 

GEORGE     FLEMING 

AUTHOR  OF  "KISMET,"   "MIRAGE,"   "THE  HEAD  OF  MEDUSA' 


"Vesticfia  nulla  retrorsum' 


BOSTON 
ROBERTS  BROTHERS 

1884 


Copyright,  1884, 
BY  ROBERTS  BROTHERS. 


JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMDRIDGB. 


DEDICATED    TO 

F.    H. 

(OF  MARIGOLA), 

—  to  know  •whom  is  indeed  a  "  liberal  education'1''  in  all  that  is 

gracious  and  good,  —  in  loving  memory  of  that  bright 

March  morning,  years  ago,  when  we  met 

in  a  certain  street  in  Leghorn. 

LONDON,  1883. 


1703623 


CONTENTS. 


I. 

PAGB 

MOTHER  AND  SON ...         i 

II. 
FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER 19 

III. 
THE  YOUNG  MASTER 45 

IV. 
THE  CIRCOLO  BARSANTI 63 

V. 
RETROSPECTIVE 79 


v 

VI. 

PAGE 

THE  MORNING  AFTER 95 

VII. 
ITALIA 117 

VIII. 
INCIDENTAL      .     . 135 

IX. 
ON  THE  WAY  UP 146 

X. 

BY  THE  LIGHT  OF  A  TORCH 161 

XI. 

LA   MORT  DANS   L'A.ME 171 

XII. 

CHOOSING    ...  188 


CONTENTS.  vii 

XIII. 

P.-.CK 

ON  THE  BUOY 204 

XIV. 
BELIEVING 217 

XV. 
A  LAST  CHANCE 228 

XVI. 
WITH  VALDEZ 235 

XVII. 
GOOD-BY 255 

XVIII. 
THE  FIRING  OF  THE  SHOT 269 

XIX. 

VESTIGIA  NULLA  RETRORSUM  281 


VESTIGIA. 


CHAPTER   I. 

MOTHER    AND     SON. 

IT  was  nearly  five  o'clock  of  a  raw  and  windy 
afternoon  in  the  month  of  March,  187-,  when  a 
young  man,  Bernardino  de'  Rossi  by  name,  came 
hastily  out  of  an  inner  room  of  the  Telegraph 
Office  building  at  Leghorn,  letting  the  heavy 
swinging  door  close  sharply  behind  him  with  a 
disagreeable  sound. 

The  room  which  he  entered  was  one  reserved 
for  the  use  of  the  Government  clerks.  Its  floor 
was  bare ;  its  high  walls,  painted  the  same  dull 
uniform  yellow  as  the  rest  of  the  building,  were 
lighted  from  above  by  a  row  of  small  square  win- 
dows, crossed  with  rusty  bars  of  iron,  —  an  ar- 
rangement which  involuntarily  suggested  a  prison 
ward  ;  and  there  was  little  to  contradict  this 
fancy  in  the  appearance  of  the  line  of  high  desks 
ranged  along  three  sides  of  the  room,  or  in  the 
expression  of  the  figures  bending  over  them. 


2  VESTIGIA. 

The  names  and  dates  and  rude  caricatures 
scrawled  over  every  available  space  of  plaster 
and  woodwork  seemed  indeed  an  indication  that 
such  absorbed  industry  was  not  the  invariable 
rule ;  but  on  that  especial  afternoon  a  dead  si- 
lence prevailed.  To  one  accustomed  to  the  ways 
of  the  place  it  was  a  significant  silence,  broken 
only  by  the  monotonous  ticking  of  the  telegraph 
wires  heard  through  the  half-open  door  of  the 
adjoining  room,  and  the  rapid  scratching  of  many 
pens. 

At  De  Rossi's  entrance  one  of  the  younger 
clerks,  a  mere  lad,  with  pale  watery  eyes  and  a 
Jewish  profile,  looked  up  from  his  writing. 

"  Well,  Dino  ?  "  he  murmured  anxiously. 

De  Rossi  glanced  at  him  and  hesitated. 

"  It  is  all  right.     Only  —  I'm  off." 

"Not  —  not  dismissed,  Dino?" 

"  Dismissed.  Turned  out.  Turned  off.  Sent 
away  without  a  character,  like  a  bad  cook.  Put 
it  any  way  you  prefer  it,  it  all  comes  to  the  same 
thing.  But  it  really  does  not  matter  in  the  least. 
It  was  sure  to  come  to  that  in  the  end.  There 
is  nothing  for  —  for  any  one  to  be  sorry  about. 
So  don't  trouble  —  don't  let  any  one  trouble  him- 
self on  my  account,"  the  young  man  added  rap- 
idly, his  face  lighting  up  with  a  sudden  very 
pleasant  smile. 

"  But  —  Dino  —  " 


MOTHER   AND  SON.  3 

"  Who  is  making  that  noise  ?  I  ask  you,  who 
is  making  that  noise  there  ?  By  Heaven  !  you 
are  enough  to  drive  a  man  mad  amongst  you. 
Chatter  !  chatter  !  chatter  !  Nothing  but  gossip 
and  chatter,  like  a  parcel  of  idle  women  after 
mass.  Government  employees  you  call  your- 
selves ;  my  word,  it  is  a  useful  kind  of  employ- 
ment that,"  interposed  the  large  pale-faced  man, 
who  occupied  a  desk  by  himself,  in  the  warmest 
corner,  beside  the  stove,  at  the  far  end  of  the 
room.  "  You  were  not  speaking  ?  Don't  tell 
me,  sir.  I  say  you  are  always  speaking,  —  and 
to  no  purpose.  Chatter,  chatter,  chatter !  and 
slamming  doors  —  " 

"  Come,  come,  Sor  Checco.  Come  now ;  the 
lads  mean  no  harm  by  it.  I  '11  answer  for  them. 
They  mean  no  harm,"  observed  another  large, 
middle-aged  individual,  who  was  elaborately  fill- 
ing up  an  empty  telegraph  form,  standing  beside 
one  of  the  desks  provided  for  the  use  of  the  pub- 
lic. He  spoke  in  a  good-natured,  husky  voice. 
Despite  the  cold,  the  yellow  fur  collar  of  his 
enormous  cloak  was  thrown  wide  open  upon  his 
shoulders,  and  from  time  to  time  he  paused 
heavily  in  his  writing,  to  rub  his  forehead  with 
the  blue  and  red  checked  handkerchief  which  he 
carried,  rolled  up  in  a  ball,  in  his  left  hand. 
"And  as  for  their  talking  —  as  for  their  talk- 
ing," he  went  on  soothingly,  "why,  what  can  you 


4  VESTIGIA. 

expect  ?  Every  donkey  prefers  his  own  bray. 
And  our  young  friend's  little  accident  with  the 
door  there  —  " 

"  Accident !  accident !  Who  believes  in  ac- 
cidents ?  Any  fool  can  call  a  thing  an  accident," 
retorted  Sor  Checco,  with  increasing  irritation, 
standing  up  and  giving  an  impatient  push  to 
his  chair.  The  chair  immediately  slipped  back 
against  the  nearest  end  of  the  fender,  bringing 
the  fire-irons  to  the  ground  with  a  loud  rattle 
and  crash. 

There  was  a  general  laugh  at  the  head  clerk's 
expense,  under  cover  of  which  Dino  walked 
quietly  over  to  his  old  place  under  the  window, 
unlocked  a  drawer  with  a  key  which  he  took 
from  his  pocket,  and  began  putting  together 
some  loose  papers  and  a  manuscript  book. 

One  by  one  the  clerks  suspended  their  work, 
turning  their  heads  to  watch  him,  but  no  one 
ventured  to  speak  again  until  worthy  Sor  Gio- 
vanni —  having  written  out  his  despatch  and  read 
it  over  carefully,  checking  off  each  word  on  the 
thick  square  fingers  of  his  right  hand — turned 
about  with  a  satisfied  air,  and  catching  sight  of 
young  De  Rossi's  occupation,  "  Why,  lad,  lad," 
he  said,  reprovingly,  "  you  're  never  packing  up 
your  things  to  go  on  account  of  six  cross  words 
and  a  sour  look  ?  Come,  come,  my  boy,  leave 
that  sort  of  thing  to  the  women  folk,  —  God  bless 


MOTHER   AND   SON. 


5 


them !  But  a  man  can't  afford  to  catch  fire 
every  time  he  strikes  a  match.  Come  now. 
Here  is  something  different  for  you  to  do. 
Why,  lad,  if  bad  temper  were  a  fever  there 
would  n't  be  hospitals  enough  to  hold  us  all. 
Come  now.  Send  off  this  despatch  for  me  like 
a  good  fellow.  And  no  nonsense  about  mistak- 
ing the  address.  Visconti,  Guiseppe,  No.  20, 
Via  Tordinona,  Rome.  There  it  is  all  written 
out  for  you  as  plain  as  the  blessed  cross  on  the 
roof  of  the  Duomo.  And  here  is  my  franc  wait- 
ing to  pay  for  it.  Fifteen  words.  You  may 
count  it  over,  you  '11  find  no  cheating.  I  '11  an- 
swer for  it,  you  won't." 

He  laughed  a  good-natured  satisfied  laugh, 
and  dabbed  at  his  forehead  with  his  checked 
handkerchief.  "  Come,  my  boy,"  he  said  very 
good-humoredly,  leaning  confidentially  across  the 
top  of  the  desk,  and  pushing  over  the  paper  and 
the  money. 

Dino  looked  up  with  a  sharp  gesture  of  im- 
patience. "  Oh,  go  to  some  one  else  !  "  he  began  ; 
and  then  seeing  the  other's  beaming  face  so  near 
his,  and  being  always  ready  to  be  affected  by  a 
kind  word  or  a  kind  look,  "  I  would  serve  you  if 
I  could,  Sor  Giovanni,"  he  added  quickly  ;  "but 
the  fact  is  —  I  'm  no  longer  a  clerk  here.  My 
name  was  taken  off  the  books  this  morning. 
I'm  dismissed." 


6  VESTIGIA. 

"  Dismissed!  Why,  lad  —  why,  God  bless  my 
soul!  what  have  you  been  doing  then?"  cried 
Sor  Giovanni  huskily,  bringing  his  hand  down 
heavily  upon  the  table. 

Dino's  face  flushed;  he  gave  a  little  laugh. 
"  Ah,  that  is  the  question  ! "  he  said,  turning 
away  with  some  slight  embarrassment  and  be- 
ginning to  fasten  up  his  papers :  they  were  let- 
ters chiefly. 

"It  is  the  question  ;  there  I  quite  agree  with 
you.  It  is  very  much  the  question,"  added  the 
head  clerk,  Sor  Checco,  coming  forward  and 
resting  both  hands  upon  the  back  of  the  desk. 
He  looked  at  the  young  man  with  a  hard  glance. 
"Before  you  leave,  —  and,  as  I  had  the  honor  of 
telling  the  Director  this  morning,  it  is  a  question 
of  your  leaving  or  of  mine,  —  before  you  leave 
you  will  perhaps  have  the  goodness  to  explain 
the  nature  of  those  documents  which  — " 

"  I  shall  have  the  goodness  to  explain  precisely 
nothing  at  all,"  retorted  De  Rossi  promptly, 
standing  up  and  thrusting  the  package  of  papers 
into  the  breast  pocket  of  his  coat.  With  the 
change  of  attitude  every  vestige  of  hesitation 
seemed  to  leave  his  bearing.  "  To  you,  Sor  Gio- 
vanni," he  said,  looking  at  him  very  gratefully, 
"  I  have  to  express  my  regret  that  circumstances 
prevent  my  doing  you  so  trifling  a  service  — " 

"But — God  bless  my  soul!     But  I  don't  un- 


MOTHER  AND   SON.     ,  *        7 

derstand.  Come  now,  lad,  what  is  the  row  all 
about?  I  don't  understand  in  the  least;  upon 
my  soul  I  don't.  Why,  look  here.  Here  am  I, 
so  to  speak,"  —  he  unfolded  one  corner  of  the 
checked  handkerchief, — "here  am  I  writing  my 
despatches  as  quiet  as  a  sleeping  babe.  And 
there  is  Sor  Checco,  poor  man !  busy  in  his  own 
corner  and  thinking  of  nothing.  And  here  are 
you  —  " 

Dino  smiled.  "Was  Sor  Checco  thinking  of 
nothing?  It  would  be  a  pity  to  interrupt  him. 
Besides,  to  him  I  have  nothing  to  say.  He 
knows  my  opinion  of  him,"  the  young  man  added 
sharply,  with  a  sudden  light  of  indignation  flash- 
ing in  his  eyes.  "To  the  others  here,  —  to  my 
old  companions  — 

He  looked  down  the  long  room,  but  at  the 
sound  of  his  words  each  head  was  bent  lower 
over  its  work.  De  Rossi's  face  flushed  and 
turned  pale  like  a  girl's.  He  bit  his  lip,  where 
the  smile  seemed  suddenly  to  have  grown  fixed 
and  unnatural,  and  turned  to  a  peg  on  the  wall 
from  which  was  hanging  a  long  gray  ulster  coat. 
He  took  down  this  coat  and  put  it  on,  buttoning 
it  across  his  breast  with  a  deliberation  which 
could  not  entirely  prevent  his  fingers  from 
trembling.  He  took  clown  his  hat,  and  stood 
there  for  an  instant  facing  the  entire  room. 
The  light  had  almost  faded  away  from  the  small 


8  VESTIGIA. 

high  windows,  but  there  was  not  a  corner  of 
those  sordid  yellow  walls,  not  a  face  among 
those  averted  faces  with  which  he  had  not  felt 
familiar.  Why,  even  the  chief  clerk's  fault-find- 
ing had  its  associations  with  many  an  old  foolish 
light-hearted  joke,  —  he  had  grown  accustomed 
to  the  discontent,  as  a  man  grows  accustomed 
to  the  rough  handle  of  his  daily  tool.  "I  wish 
you  a  very  good  afternoon.  And  —  and  I  'm 
very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  kindness," 
the  young  fellow  said  abruptly,  turning  to  Sor 
Giovanni  and  putting  out  his  hand.  And  then 
yielding  to  an  impulse  for  which  he  never  quite 
forgave  himself,  "  I  have  worked  here  every  day 
for  the  last  four  years,  and  there  is  not  a  man  in 
this  room  whom  I  would  not  have  called  my 
friend,"  he  said,  bitterly  enough,  and  put  his  hat 
upon  his  head  and  walked  out  of  the  room 
before  them  all. 

As  he  passed  before  the  young  clerk  to  whom 
he  had  spoken  on  first  entering,  the  boy  moved 
uneasily  in  his  chair,  muttering  some  indistinct 
word  ;  but  at  the  same  moment  Sor  Checco's 
voice  was  heard  giving  a  harsh  command  that 
the  gas  be  lighted  without  further  delay.  "And 
'tis  time  surely  for  more  light,  when  we  lose  so 
brilliant  an  example,"  added  a  tall  cadaverous- 
looking  youth,  who  had  hitherto  sat  silent, 
keeping  a  small  but  wary  eye  upon  the  stormy 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  g 

countenance  of  the  patron.  Dino  could  remem- 
ber years  after  the  pang  of  bitter  and  impotent 
resentment  which  made  him  start  and  clench 
his  fist  outside  there  in  the  long  cold  corridor  at 
the  echo  of  the  sound  of  their  laughter. 

It  was  a  cold  clear  night,  with  many  stars 
and  a  piercing  March  wind,  which  set  the  gas 
lamps  flickering  in  the  deserted  Via  Grande  ; 
for  it  was  a  Saturday,  and  all  the  Jewish  shops 
were  closed  ;  and  even  the  few  Christian  ven- 
dors scattered  here  and  there  along  the  street 
seemed  for  once  to  have  renounced  both  ortho- 
doxy and  profit,  and  were  for  the  most  part 
engaged  in  putting  up  their  shutters  with  cold 
and  hasty  hands.  As  he  turned,  with  the  au- 
tomatic accuracy  of  a  man  going  homewards, 
out  of  the*  main  thoroughfare  into  one  of  those 
many  narrow  streets  which  lie  between  the  Via 
Grande  and  the  port,  it  was  indeed  a  wintry 
blast  which  struck  the  young  man  full  in  the 
face  making  him  catch  his  breath  with  a  gasp 
and  thrust  his  hands  deeper  into  the  pockets 
of  his  long  thin  coat ;  but  what  was  this  vio- 
lence of  the  outer  air  in  comparison  to  that 
other  fiercer  storm,  that  tumult  of  hurt  pride,  of 
wounded  disregarded  sensibility,  the  passionate 
indignation,  the  hundred  mad  impulses  and 
promptings  which  tore  at  each  other  and  con- 
tradicted each  other  inside  his  breast  ?  The 


I0  VESTIGIA. 

recollection  of  his  own  last  words  came  back  to 
him,  and  every  nerve  quivered.  He  could  have 
struck  himself  with  anger  and  disgust  at  his 
own  weakness  in  having  spoken  them.  "To 
have  called  them — them  —  my  friends!"  he  mut- 
tered half  aloud.  "  If  they  were  laughing  at 
that!"  he  thought,  and  his  face  grew  hot  and 
cold  again  as  he  remembered  their  laughter. 

It  was  not  until  he  had  actually  quitted  the 
street,  and  was  rapidly  running  up  the  dark 
stair  of  a  narrow  building,  that  another  thought 
seemed  to  strike  him  with  a  sudden  power  to 
slacken  his  impatient  footstep  and  hold  him, 
hesitating,  outside  a  closed  door.  "And  the 
mother?  what  will  she  say  to  it  all?"  he  asked 
himself,  and  looked  at  the  latch-key  in  his  hand. 
An  expression  of  mingled  weariness  and  defi- 
ance, the  expression  of  a  man  who  expects  to 
find  but  short  and  scanty  indulgence  between 
the  four  walls  of  his  home,  crossed  his  face  for 
an  instant.  He  opened  the  door  and  went  in. 

First  came  a  little  hall,  a  mere  passage-way  ; 
beyond  that  again  was  a  large  low  room,  some- 
what empty  of  furniture,  with  blackened  rafters 
which  divided  the  ceiling  into  squares.  The 
walls  were  white-washed,  scrupulously  clean,  and 
quite  devoid  of  character,  but  here  and  there  a 
touch  of  faded  color  —  the  blurred  outline  of  a 
flying  figure,  some  heavy  tracery  of  fruit  or 


MOTHER   AND   SON.  n 

flower,  or  line  of  tarnished  gold  —  still  spoke  of 
the  original  painting  of  the  roof.  Facing  the 
door  a  narrow  window  led  out  upon  a  rickety 
iron  fcalcony,  high  hung  beneath  the  eaves  of  the 
old  house,  and  from  thence  in  the  daytime  the 
view  was  superb,  stretching  across  the  Old  Port 
and  the  New,  over  the  sea,  to  the  pale  vision-like 
peaks  of  Carrara. 

But  to-night  the  curtain  was  close  drawn.  A 
single  oil  lamp,  with  a  long  wick,  was  burning 
on  the  mantel-piece  ;  its  light  fell  upon  the  bent 
gray  head  of  an  elderly  woman,  who  was  knitting 
busily,  and  only  occasionally  moving  a  little  to 
cast  an  anxious  glance  at  the  contents  of  an 
earthen  vessel  which  stood  before  the  fire. 

She  looked  up,  with  an  air  of  almost  painful 
suspense  in  eyes  which  had  once  been  celebrated 
for  their  beauty,  and  which,  even  yet,  shone  clear 
and  dark  beneath  the  troubled  brows  ;  she  looked 
up,  still  holding  her  knitting  with  both  hands,  as 
her  son  entered. 

"  Well,  Dino  ? "  she  said  breathlessly. 

"  Well,  mother..,  You  see  I  was  not  mistaken. 
I  thought  I  should  come  home  rather  later  to- 
night," the  young  man  answered,  with  an  attempt 
at  speaking  easily.  He  came  and  stood  before 
the  fire,  spreading  out  his  chilled  fingers  to  the 
warmth  of  the  blaze.  "  It  is  a  cold  night.  I 
don't  know  when  I  can  remember  so  cold  a 


12  VESTIGIA. 

night,"  he  said  absently.  And  then,  rousing 
himself  with  an  effort,  "  Where  is  the  little  one  ? 
where  is  Palmira  ? "  he  asked,  glancing  around 
him.  r 

"  She  has  gone  to  spend  the  afternoon  at 
Drea's.  Italia  came  for  her.  It  is  Italia's  birth- 
day, and  they  said  you  had  arranged  to  call  for 
the  child,"  returned  his  mother  slowly.  She  bent 
her  head  still  lower  over  her  knitting.  "  You 
will  want  your  supper  before  you  go  out  again. 
It  is  spoiled  now  with  keeping.  It  has  been 
ready  for  you  this  hour  past.  I  knew  nothing 
about  it.  I  knew  nothing  of  when  you  intended 
to  come  back.  Perhaps  that  is  one  of  the  things 
which  you  had  already  settled  —  with  Italia." 

"Dear  mother,  I  am  so  sorry.  But  indeed  it 
was  unavoidable,"  said  Dino  soothingly.  He 
added  in  a  lower  voice,  "  Even  this  morning  I 
did  not  think  there  was  much  chance  for  me. 
And  the  moment  I  heard  the  Director's  condi- 
tions I  saw  it  was  all  up.  They  wanted  to  get 
rid  of  me,  —  my  being  at  the  demonstration  was 
a  mere  pretext.  Don't  worry  yourself  about  it, 
mother  ;  pray  don't.  It  must  have  come  to  this 
in  the  end.  They  wanted  —  they  all  wanted  to 
get  rid  of  me.  And  perhaps,  all  things  consid- 
ered, it  is  not  so  much  to  be  wondered  at." 

"  Wonder  ?  Do  you  think  I  have  lived  until 
now  to  wonder  at  any  trouble  overtaking  us  — 


MOTHER   AND  SON.  ,3 

at  any  misfortune  ? "  interrupted  Sora  Catarina 
passionately.  She  took  a  few  hasty  impatient 
stitches,  holding  her  work  up  close  to  her  eyes, 
which  burned  painfully  with  hot  tears  of  re- 
pressed disappointment.  Then  she  rose  abrupt- 
ly, sweeping  the  balls  of  wool  into  some  inner 
pocket ;  she  took  up  the  lamp,  placing  it  upon  a 
centre  table.  "  You  are  cold.  You  had  better 
eat,"  she  said  briefly. 

"  Thank  you,  mother.     I  am  not  hungry." 

"  There  were  potatoes,  too,  cooked  as  you  like 
them.  But  that  was  an  hour  ago,"  she  went  on, 
taking  a  dish  from  the  warm  hearth  and  looking 
into  it. 

"  Oh  fit  is  sure  to  be  good.  It  is  my  own  fault 
that  I  am  not  hungry,"  said  Dino.  He  threw  off 
his  outer  coat  and  drew  his  chair  nearer  to  the 
table. 

"  Mother." 

"  Well  ? " 

She  turned  her  head  slowly  towards  him,  and 
for  the  first  time  that  evening  their  eyes  met,  — 
dark  serious  eyes,  almost  the  only  trace  of  resem- 
blance between  mother  and  son,  the  only  feature 
they  had  in  common.  "  Well  ?  "  she  repeated 
after  an  instant's  pause.  She  was  still  standing  ; 
now  she  crossed  the  room  to  fetch  another  can- 
dle, which  she  lighted  and  placed  before  him. 
"  There  is  no  reason  you  should  eat  your  supper 


1 4  VESTIGIA. 

in  the  dark.  It  is  little  enough  pleasure  tnat 
comes  here  in  the  daytime,  goodness  knows. 
But  you  never  did  care  about  being  made  com- 
fortable." 

"Mother,  I  think  —  I  have  been  thinking  of 
asking  Drea  if  he  does  not  want  another  hand 
at  his  work.  I  can  manage  a  boat  if  I  can  do 
nothing  else.  And  it  will  be  something  to  go 
o'n  with  for  the  present.  That  is,  if  you  have  no 
objection,"  said  Dino,  still  looking  at  her  rather 
anxiously. 

"  And  if  I  had,  what  difference  would  it 
make  ?  Will  you  not  go  your  own  way  as  your 
father  did  before  you  ?  What  good  has  ever 
come  of  my  objecting  ? "  She  had  taken  up  her 
knitting  again,  and  was  turning  it  over  and  over 
between  her  trembling  fingers.  "  It  is  the  same 
story ;  it  began  in  the  same  way.  It  began  so 
with  your  father.  I  have  seen  it  all  before,"  she 
said  in  a  hopeless  sort  of  voice,  and  with  a  half 
sob. 

Dino  looked  up  quickly  at  the  sound,  and 
seemed  about  to  speak,  but  her  face  was  turned 
away  from  him.  He  remained  silent,  pushing 
away  the  untouched  food  before  him,  and  lean- 
ing both  arms  upon  the  table. 

"Are  you  going  to  that — to  that  place  again 
to-night?  I  will  never  mention  its  name,  —  to 
that  club  of  yours  ?  But  of  course  you  are.  It 


MOTHER   AND   SON.  T^ 

is  the  same  story  over  again.  I  tell  you,  like 
father  like  son.  And  sometimes  —  sometimes  I 
ask  myself  what  is  the  use  of  it  all  ?  Though  I 
should  work  my  hands  off,"  she  said  passion- 
ately, "  though  I  work  my  hands  off  trying  to 
keep  the  place  comfortable  for  you  ;  trying  to 
be  respectable  and  keep  up  appearances,  what 
is  the  good  ?  As  your  dear  Drea  says,  can  one 
man  lift  both  ends  of  a  beam  at  the  same  time  ? 
And  I  'm  tired  of  struggling  against  what  I  can- 
not help.  Have  your  own  way.  I  've  tried 
hard  enough,  God  knows,  but  there  are  no  sails 
will  keep  a  stone  from  sinking."  She  got  up 
restlessly  from  her  place  and  walked  over  to  the 
fire  and  came  back  again.  "  Italia !  't  is  my 
belief  the  girl  has  bewitched  you  all,  with  her 
baby  face  and  those  great  eyes  of  hers.  I 
spend  my  life,  I  make  a  slave  of  myself,  for  you 
and  the  child,  and  for  what  good?  Why,  even 
the  child,  even  Palmira,  it's  little  enough  she 
troubles  her  head  about  me  if  she  can  get  Italia 
to  do  so  much  as  look  at  her.  Italia !  I  don't 
say  she  is  not  a  good  girl  —  " 

"Mother!" 

"  I  tell  you — Dino,  I  will  not  have  you 
looking  at  me  in  that  way.  I  will  not  have  it. 
I  am  not  saying  anything  against  Italia,  I  tell 
you.  I  have  not  waited  until  now  to  have  my 
own  son  teach  me  how  to  know  a  good  girl 


1 6  VESTIGIA. 

when  I  see  one,  though,  mind  you,  there's  many 
a  lass  will  sweep  out  the  corners  of  the  balcony 
while  she's  waiting  to  be  married,  and  when 
she 's  got  a  husband  —  you  '11  not  find  her  so 
much  as  wiping  the  dust  off  her  own  plate. 
Not  that  I  am  saying  that  Italia  is  of  that  sort. 
She  is  a  good  girl." 

"Yes,"  said  Dirio,  lifting  up  his  face.  And 
then,  as  if  there  had  indeed  been  some  spell  of 
comfort  and  of  healing  in  the  very  sound  of  her 
name,  he  rose  with  a  new  look  of  light  and  glad- 
ness in  his  young  eyes. 

"Mother,  dear."  He  stood  looking  down 
upon  her  bowed  gray  head  for  a  moment,  and 
stooped  and  kissed  it.  "  I  will  go  for  Palmira 
first.  But  I  will  come  back  as  soon  as  I  can," 
he  said  simply.  "  Poor  mother !  it  is  hard  for 
you  I  know.  What  you  wanted  to  make  you 
happy  was  a  very  different  sort  of  son, — the 
kind  of  fellow  who  never  troubled  his  head 
about  other  people's  doings,  and  who  would 
have  found  out  long  ago  how  to  get  on  with  Sor 
Checco  —  confound  him  !  Poor  little  mother. 
But  we  must  even  make  the  best  of  what  we 
have.  And  you  will  see  it  will  not  turn  out  so 
badly  as  you  fear.  Come,  mother,  dear,  look  up 
before  I  go,  and  let  me  see  that  you  are  not 
angry;"  he  slipped  his  arm  about  her  neck, 
forcing  her  to  raise  her  head  and  look  at  him. 


MOTHER  AND  SON.  ij 

But  although  she  yielded  to  the  caress  —  "I 
am  not  like  you  ;  I  cannot  change  as  the  wind 
blows.  When  I  mean  a  thing  I  mean  it,"  she 
said,  sadly  enough.  And  long  after  he  had 
gone  she  sat  still,  as  he  had  left  her,  gazing 
fixedly  at  the  closed  door.  That  door !  how 
much  of  her  life  had  she  not  seen  pass  through 
it,  not  to  return,  since  the  time  when  the  years 
seemed  long  before  her  and  she  had  found  her 
chief  pride,  her  chief  plaything,  in  her  hand- 
some boy !  Now,  it  was  as  if  with  every  month 
that  passed  he  were  going  more  and  more  away 
from  her,  as  the  likeness  to  his  dead  father 
deepened.  And  the  knowledge  of  this  was  like 
the  painful  pressure  of  a  heavy  hand  upon  her\ 
bruised  mother's  heart. 

Disappointment,  discouragement,  and  the  re- 
bellion against  that  discouragement,  and  all  the 
weariness  of  a  hard  strenuous  nature,  for  ever 
struggling,  and  for  ever  thrust  back  upon  itself, 
were  expressed  in  every  line  of  her  worn  yet 
insistent  face.  She  sat  thus  for  what  seemed  to 
her  a  long  space  of  time  before  she  roused  her- 
self to  take  up  her  work.  But  before  she  did 
so  she  blew  out  both  the  candles.  "  He  likes 
plenty  of  light.  They  will  do  for  him  when  he 
comes  back.  His  eyes  are  young  still,  let  him 
save  'em  while  he  can,"  she  said  half  aloud, 
bending  her  own  gray  head  still  lower  over  her 


IS  VESTIGIA. 

work  as  she  knitted  on  and  on  in  the  darkened 
room.  She  let  the  fire. go  down  to  its  lowest 
ember;  what  was  the  good  of  wasting  warmth  if 
Dino  was  not  there  to  enjoy  it  ?  But,  indeed, 
she  was  scarcely  aware  of  the  increasing  cold, 
her  mind  was  already  so  full  of  new  plans  for 
the  future,  —  projects  in  which  she  unconsciously 
disposed  of  the  future  action  of  her  son  as  con- 
fidently as  if  he  were  still  the  little  child  she  re- 
membered, her  docile  bright-eyed  boy,  knowing 
no  other  law  but  the  imperious  rule  of  her  anx- 
ious and  exacting  love. 


CHAPTER   II. 

FATHER   AND    DAUGHTER. 

As  he  reached  the  quay,  and  even  before  he 
was  so  near  it,  from  the  steps  above,  looking 
across  from  the  bridge,  Dino  could  see  the  light 
shining  like  a  welcome  behind  the  curtained 
window  of  old  Drea's  house.  The  wind  had 
fallen  a  little,  but  not  the  sea.  The  flight  of 
stone  stairs  leading  down  to  the  landing  from 
the  level  of  the  street  was  wet  and  slippery  with 
the  salt  spray ;  even  here,  in  the  shelter  of  the 
Old  Port,  the  black  water  was  tossing  and  heav- 
ing in  the  light  of  the  rising  moon.  There  was 
a  continual  movement,  a  backward  and  forward 
swaying,  among  the  ships  at  anchor ;  a  shifting 
of  the  level  of  the  signal  lights. 

As  he  came  nearer  Dino  could  see  that  the 
friendly  scarlet  curtain  had  a  great  rent  across 
the  middle  of  it ;  he  halted  by  the  window,  look- 
ing in  with  smiling  eyes  at  the  little  group  by 
the  fireside.  A  young  girl  was  sitting  on  a  low 
stool  beside  the  fire,  with  her  back  to  the  win- 
dow ;  she  was  talking  to  a  child  who  knelt 


20  VESTIGIA. 

beside  her  and  was  looking  up  intently  in  her 
face.  The  young  man  could  not  see  that  face, 
which  was  turned  away  from  him,  but  only  the 
outline  of  the  dear  round  head,  with  its  heavy 
dark  twist  of  hair ;  he  could  not  hear  what  she 
was  saying ;  he  could  only  watch  the  quick 
motion  of  her  little  brown  hands.  She  appeared 
to  be  telling  some  story,  which  the  child  was 
listening  to  with  bated  breath.  All  about  them 
were  scattered  books  and  pieces  of  paper  ;  there 
was  a  guitar,  an  open  inkstand,  upon  a  neigh- 
boring chair.  "  Ah,  the  idle  child  !  the  idle  lit- 
tle girl ! "  the  young  man  said  to  himself  with  a 
half  tender  laugh,  looking  at  those  fallen  papers 
upon  the  floor.  And  then  he  rapped  once, 
twice,  upon  the  window. 

Italia  sprang  to  her  feet  at  the  sound.  "  Dino  ! 
it  is  Dino ! "  she  cried  joyfully,  and  flew  to  the 
door  to  meet  him,  with  two  little  outstretched 
hands,  and  welcome  beaming  in  her<eyes.  She 
led  him  in,  away  from  the  wind  and  cold  and 
darkness.  "  Father  is  coming,  and  we  have  been 
expecting  you,  oh,  for  hours.  I  know  it  has  been 
such  a  hard  day  for  you,  you  poor,  poor  Dino,"  she 
said,  in  that  sweet  low  voice  of  hers,  which  seemed 
made  only  to  express  the  pity  and  goodness  and 
loving-kindness  of  her  gentle  heart.  She  did 
not  let  go  his  hand  :  to  the  young  man's  fancy  it 
was  as  if  all  the  new  li°:ht  and  warmth  about  him 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER.  2I 

were  radiating  only  from  her  look.  As  he  gazed 
at  her  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  had  never  fairly 
seen  her  before :  when  she  turned  away  again, 
blushing,  he  started  as  if  he  were  awakening  from 
a  dream. 

"  We  were  speaking  of  interesting  things. 
Italia  was  telling  me  a  story.  It  was  a  fairy  story 
—  out  of  a  book  —  but  now  you  have  come  in  and 
interrupted  it,"  observed  little  Palmira  quietly, 
looking  gravely  up  at  both  of  them  from  where 
she  still  knelt  upon  the  floor. 

"  But  hush,  you  bad  child.  Why,  Mira,  surely 
you  would  not  have  our  Dino  think  we  are  not 
glad  to  see  him  ?  And  if  we  talk  about  fairies 
do  you  think  our  hard  taskmaster  will  not  begin 
to  ask  us  about  our  lessons  ? "  said  Italia  laugh- 
ing, and  still  with  that  softest  rosy  flush  upon  her 
cheek.  "There!  that  is  what  we  have  done  for 
you,  signer  Dino,"  as  she  pointed  to  the  scattered 
papers  upon  the  floor.  "  It  was  I  who  threw  them 
down  there,  because  —  oh,  because  I  had  not  done 
one  of  them.  And  I  hate  learning  to  write,  it  hurts 
my  fingers  ;  and  then  I  can't  hold  my  guitar. 
And  this  is  my  birthday,  and  Lucia  is  coming  to 
supper  with  us  — father  has  just  gone  over  to 
fetch  her  ;  and  see,  I  have  put  on  the  new  dress 
she  made  for  me  ;  do  you  like  it  ?  But  Lucia 
will  scold  me.  I  have  not  mended  the  hole  in  the 
curtain,  and  I  tore  it  a  week  ago,"  cried  the  girl 
with  another  laugh. 


22  VESTIGIA. 

"  T  is  a  pretty  dress.  Have  I  never  seen  you 
in  it  before  ?  but  you  always  look  the  same  in 
my  eyes,  and  whatever  I  see  you  wear  is  what  I 
like  the  best,"  Dino  answered,  looking  at  her 
fondly.  He  put  out  his  hand  and  touched  the 
sleeve  of  her  cotton  frock.  "  You  will  wear  this 
the  day  we  go  to  Monte  Nero  —  " 

"  For  the  pilgrimage  ?  ah,  yes.  And  this  year 
we  must  take  poor  Lucia  with  us.  And  the  Sora 
Catarina  ;  —  it  would  not  be  like  Monte  Nero  if 
you  and  your  mother  were  not  with  us.  Do  you 
remember  the  first  time  we  went  there  together, 
Dino  ?  I  was  twelve  years  old." 

"And  you  carried  your  doll  into  the  church 
for  the  benediction  ;  I  remember  —  "' 

"  Ah,  but  it  was  a  very  pretty  doll.  It  was  the 
old  Marchesagave  it  to  me,  one  day  your  mother 
had  taken  me  with  her  to  the  palazzo.  I  remem- 
ber it  so  well :  I  had  never  been  in  such  a  big 
room  before,  and  when  Sora  Catarina  left  me  alone 
I  was  frightened,  and  I  cried.  And  then  the 
Marchesa  herself  came  in  and  spoke  to  me. 
She  had  a  long  train  to  her  gown  that  rustled, 
and  it  had  gold  things  on  it,  like  the  dress  of  the 
Madonna.  And  when  she  dropped  her  handker- 
chief I  picked  it  up  for  her.  It  was  fine,  oh,  so  fine ! 
and  white,  like  a  cobweb,  and  it  smelt  of  flowers." 

"  Why  did  she  not  give  you  that  instead  of  a 
doll  ?  I  would  not  have  taken  the  doll.  I  des- 


FATHER   AND  DAUGHTER.  2$ 

pise  dolls,"  said  Palmira,  lifting  up  her  little  pale 
face  again  from  her  book. 

"As  if  I  had  ever  been  as  wise  as  you,  you 
little  monkey.  Oh,  Dino,  I  know  I  have  been 
very  idle  all  the  week.  And  it  seems  so  ungrate- 
ful to  you  after  all  your  trouble.  But  I  can't 
write,  I  really  can't.  I  am  like  father,  all  my  fin- 
gers are  thumbs,"  said  Italia  mournfully,  shaking 
her  head  and  looking  down  on  her  lap  at  her 
little  sunburned  hands.  "  But  you  are  not  vexed 
with  me  ?  really  not  ?  I  did  not  mean  to  disap- 
point you,  Dino." 

"  No,  dear  ;  I  am  sure  of  that.  But  now  let  us 
see  these  famous  exercises.  Perhaps  they  are 
not  quite  so  bad." 

She  gathered  up  all  the  books  and  brought 
them  to  him  instantly,  standing  beside  him  with 
perfect  docility  as  he  turned  over  the  blotted 
pages.  "  Of  course  you  write  so  beautifully 
yourself,"  she  said.  And  at' that  young  De  Rossi 
gave  a  sudden  start.  "  Indeed  I  had  forgotten. 
When  I  am  with  you  I  can  think  of  nothing  else. 
But,  Italia,  there  was  something  —  I  knew  there 
was  something  I  wanted  to  tell  you  —  and,  what 
will  Sor  Andrea  say  ?  For  I  have  left  the  office." 

"  Oh,  Dino  !  " 

"  Not  that  I  mind  that  so  particularly ;  but 
what  will  your  father  say  ?  I  came  down  to  con- 
sult with  him  about  it.  I  —  " 


24  VESTIGIA. 

"  There  he  is ! "  said  Italia,  quickly  turning 
her  head  at  the  sound  of  a  heavy  step,  and  adding 
hastily  :  "  Do  tell  him,  Dino  —  tell  him  every- 
thing ;  you  know  how  good  he  is,"  —  she  sprang 
to  open  the  door. 

The  first  person  to  enter,  blown  into  the  room, 
as  it  seemed,  by  a  stronger  gust  of  wind,  was  a 
small,  thin  woman  of  about  forty  or  forty-five. 
Her  face  and  shoulders  were  closely  muffled  in  a 
woollen  shawl,  which  Italia  promptly  removed  and 
threw  into  a  corner. 

"  Dear  Lucia,  how  good  of  you  to  come  to  us 
on  such  a  horrible  night  —  " 

"  If  you  would  not  mind  —  if  you  will  give  it, 
to  me  I  will  fold  it  up  properly  ;  things  get  so 
easily  worn,"  the  new-comer  murmured,  looking 
apologetically  at  them  all.  And  then  she  put  up 
both  her  hands,  —  the  thin,  white  hands  of  a 
sewing  woman,  —  and  patted  the  bands  of  her 
shining  black  hair ;  her  dress,  too,  was  black, 
and  scrupulously  neat,  with  many  shining  beads 
and  buttons  upon  it. 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,"  Italia  repeated, 
looking  down  at  the  little  woman  with  an  inde- 
scribable friendliness  and  compassion  in  her 
own  kind  eyes. 

"  Ay,  it  was  rough  work  getting  here  for  the 
poor  little  woman.  I  left  her  for  half  a  minute 
while  I  stopped  to  look  at  the  boat,  and  per 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER.  2$ 

Bacco  !  she  came  in  ahead  of  me  in  the  race.  I 
could  not  find  her  out  there  in  the  dark ;  I 
thought  she  had  been  blown  clean  away,  I  did," 
observed  Sor  Drea  with  a  loud,  good-natured 
laugh.  He  fastened  the  door  and  came  up 
slowly  to  the  fireside, — a  short,  strongly-built 
figure,  with  a  decided  lurch  in  his  walk.  He 
came  up  and  laid  his  hand  upon  Italia's  shoulder. 
"  Well,  my  little  girl  ?  Ah  !  this  now  is  what  I 
like,"  the  old  man  said,  glancing  over  with  a 
broad,  cordial  smile  at  Dino  ;  "  this  is  the  sort 
of  thing  that  does  a  man's  heart  good,  to  come 
in  and  find  supper  ready,  and  a  good  fire,  and 
all  the  old  faces.  Who  wants  to  eat  alone  ? 
Alone  ?  Why,  one  is  n't  comfortable  alone  even 
in  Paradise  ;  one  needs  an  angel  or  two  if  it 
was  only  just  for  company.  The  blessed  saints, 
they  know  better  than  to  live  separate,  they 
do." 

"  How  do  you  know,  father  ? "  asked  Italia, 
with  a  laugh. 

"Perhaps  I 've  met  them.  Perhaps  I've  had 
an  angel  or  two  to  live  with — there's  no  tell- 
ing," said  her  father  looking  down  at  her  fondly. 
"  Ask  the  youngster  over  there.  Why,  Lord 
bless  you,  my  girl,  when  I  was  his  age  — 
But  there,  there,  a  sound  man  is  a  young 
man,  and  the  only  old  men  are  the  dead  ones. 
What's  the  matter  with  the  lad?  What  ails 


26  VESTIGIA. 

you,  boy?  Surely  no  one  here  can  have  been 
vexing  you  ?  You  can't  have  been  quarrelling 
with  my  little  girl  ? "  But  at  that  — 

"  Quarrelling  with  Italia  !  "  and  "  Father  !  " 
they  both  protested  in  one  breath, 

Old  Drea  laughed  good-humoredly.  "Well, 
well ;  't  is  a  young  sailor  who  does  not  keep 
ready  for  a  change  in  the  fairest  wind.  There 's 
no  such  great  harm  in  a  friendly  bit  of  a  quarrel. 
And,  bless  you,  lad  !  you  and  the  girl  there  are 
too  like  brother  and  sister  not  to  have  found 
that  out  long  before.  There's  no  such  great 
harm  done,  I  tell  you.  Women,  they  are  like 
caterpillars  ;  they  curl  up  if  you  do  but  touch 
them,  but  they  go  creeping  on." 

Italia  and  De  Rossi  exchanged  glances. 
"  Father,"  the  young  girl  began  ;  she  hesitated 
for  a  moment.  "  Father ! "  She  went  up  to 
him  and  took  one  of  his  hard  and  knotted  hands 
into  both  of  her  own,  looking  up  into  his  face 
with  the  sweetest  look  of  entreaty.  "  Indeed 
you  are  always  right,  dear,  and  our  poor  Dino 
is  in  trouble,"  she  said  simply.  "  He  has  left  — 
he  has  been  sent  away  from  his  office,  and  he 
has  come  to  his  oldest  friends.  You  are  not 
going  to  be  angry  with  him,  father  ? "  Her 
sweet  eyes  were  full  of  tears. 

"The  fact  is,  there  has  been  a  row  about  a 
demonstration.  I  don't  know  if  you  heard  about 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER.  2/ 

it.  It  was  last  month,  when  they  were  enlisting 
the  new  recruits.  And  some  of  the  republican 
clubs  got  up  a  counter  procession  and  marched 
down  the  Via  Grande  with  flags,  and  cheered 
Garibaldi.  And  then  there  had  been  a  skirmish 
with  the  police  —  nothing  very  serious,  but 
still —  It  was  a  foolish  business  altogether," 
the  young  man  confessed,  hanging  his  head. 

"  Foolish  ?  By 1  call  it  by  another  name 

than  foolish  !  "  the  other  man  broke  out  with 
sudden  passion.  "  Nonsense,  Italia ;  let  me 
speak.  What  does  a  woman  know  about  such 
matters  ?  I  tell  you  it  was  a  piece  of  rank 
mutiny  aboard  ship.  You  ought  to  have  been 
clapped  into  irons,  every  man  of  you ;  and  so 
you  would  have  been  if  I  'd  had  aught  to  do 
^with  you.  So  you  would  have  been.  What,  sir  ; 
do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  —  you,  a  lad 
I  've  known,  ay,  and  been  fond  of  too,  since  you 
were  a  little  chap  as  high  as  my  knee,  —  do  you 
mean  to  tell  me,  Dino,  that  you  've  been  and 
joined  a  company  of  shouting  fools  with  nothing 
better  to  do  than  insult  the  Government  that 
pays  and  keeps  'em  ? " 

"  If  the  Government  paid  me  the  Government 
got  my  work  in  return,"  says  the  young  man, 
turning  very  red  ;  "  and  I  was  not  the  only  one. 
I  was  only  carrying  out  my  club's  orders." 

"  Then  I  say,  damn  your  club,  sir ! " 


28  VESTIGIA. 

"Father!" 

"  Gesu  Maria  !  Gesu  Maria  !  ah,  those  men  ! " 
sighed  Lucia  under  her  breath,  and  grasped  Pal- 
mira's shoulder  convulsively.  The  child  shook 
herself  free  with  a  contemptuous  movement. 
"  Let  me  be.  What  are  you  afraid  of?  Look 
at  Italia,"  she  said  quietly,  turning  her  small 
pale  face  and  great  eyes  full  upon  the  young 
girl.  De  Rossi,  too,  had  turned  towards  her. 

"  Perhaps  I  'd  better  go  now,  sir.  I  am  sorry 
I  came  in.  I  am  sorry  I  troubled  you,"  he 
began  in  a  formal  voice.  "  I  ought,  I  suppose, 
to  apologize  —  " 

"  Oh,  damn  your  apologies  !  "  said  Sor  Drea, 
starting  up  to  his  feet  again,  and  taking  a  hasty 
turn  across  the  room.  "  Be  a  man,  can't  you  ? 
What  is  the  use  of  apologizing  —  of  —  of  apolo- 
gizing, per  Bacco !  for  what  you  are  perfectly 
ready  to  do  again  —  for  what  you  mean  to 
do  again  ?  Apologies  !  — :  yes  —  they  're  cheap 
enough  in  every  market ;  —  a  good  wind  to  torn 
sails.  I  believe  in  actions  myself ;  in  doing 
your  duty  by  your  masters  and  betters,  and  not 
hurting  the  people  who  love  you,  —  not  in  fine 
gentlemen  apologies — damn  'em,"  said  the  old 
man,  bringing  his  knotted  hand  down  heavily 
upon  the  table,  and  glaring  from  under  his 
shaggy  eyebrows  at  Dino  with  an  unspoken 
world  of  troubled  reproach  in  his  keen  old  eyes. 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER. 


29 


There  was  a  moment  of  silence,  and  then, 
"Father,  dear  ?"  said  Italia  beseechingly,  going 
up  to  him  and  slipping  her  arm  about  his  neck. 

"  Ay,  ay,  my  little  girl.  You  're  a  good  girl, 
I  know  it.  A  good  girl,  though  I  say  it  as 
should  n't.  But  not  even  you  —  you  can't  think 
I  am  going  to  put  up  with  this  sort  of  nonsense 
from  a  youngster  like  that,  a  fellow  who  comes 
to  talk  to  me  of  — 

"  Who  comes  to  ask  advice  of  his  oldest 
friends.  And  in  your  own  house,  father." 

"  Oh,  Lord  help  us ! "  said  old  Drea  with  a 
groan. 

"  And  if  you  knew  the  whole  of  the  story  as  I 
know  it —  I  mean  why  it  is  that  he  has  lost  his 
place  to-day.  Stop,  Dino.  I  know  it  is  a  se- 
cret, but  I  think  it  is  a  secret  which  I  ought  to 
tell  my  father.  If  you  knew  why  he  was  sent 
away,"  said  Italia,  in  her  sweet  low  voice,  looking 
with  beaming  eyes  full  of  affection  from  one 
man  to  the  other.  "  It  is  quite  true  what  Dino 
told  you  about  the  procession,  father,  but  there 
is  more  than  that.  There  was  another  man  in 
Dino's  office  who  joined  in  the  procession  too. 
And  they  could  not  find  out  who  it  was,  and 
they  wanted  Dino  to  tell  them  his  name.  And 
he  would  not.  And  that  is  why  he  had  to 
leave." 

"  There,  there.     Say  no  more,  child,  say  no 


30  VESTIGIA. 

more.  I  spoke  too  soon  and  forgot  to  listen. 
My  words  were  like  so  many  kittens  that  are 
born  in  such  a  hurry  they're  born  blind.  No 
offence,  lad.  There,  shake  hands  over  it. 
Lord  bless  you  ;  and  so  you  would  n't  tell  'em 
that  other  chap's  name  —  not  to  save  your  own 
place,  eh  ?  Ay,  that  was  right,  boy,  that  was 
right.  But  Lord,  Lord,  what  a  chap  that  one 
must  be  who  let  you  do  it." 

"  He  's  a  mere  boy.  He  does  n't  know  any 
better.  And  it  does  not  matter  so  much  to  me. 
I  was  not  so  anxious  to  stay  —  only  on  my 
mother's  account,"  said  Dino  slowly. 

"  Ay,  she  '11  be  fine  and  disappointed,  she  will. 
She  takes  things  hard,  does  Sora  Catarina.  She 
always  did  from  a  girl.  Have  you  told  her  yet, 
Dino  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  glancing  over  at  Italia. 

"  Ay,  she  '11  be  disappointed,  she  will,"  the  old 
man  repeated  slowly,  wrinkling  his  brow,  and 
looking  at  the  fire,  while  he  fumbled  absently  in 
the  pocket  of  his  pea-jacket  for  his  pipe.  "  So 
you  came  and  told  my  little  girl  here  all  about 
it,  eh,  Dino  ?  " 

"  I  told  Italia." 

"  Yes,  and  he  told  me  not  to  repeat  it  to  any 
one,"  added  Italia  quickly. 

"  Ay,  ay.  I  '11  warrant  you  he  did.  Ah,  he  's 
young  yet  is  the  lad ;  he 's  young,"  said  Drea 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER.  3I 

with  a  quiet  chuckle.  "  When  you  find  a  woman 
who  keeps  a  secret  for  you,  my  Dino,  you  may 
rest  pretty  certain  she  's  got  some  of  her  own  to 
look  after.  And  even  then  you  need  not  think 
yours  will  last  her.  Ah,  they're  a  queer-rigged 
craft  are  women,  and  a  secret  is  the  ballast 
they  think  first  about  throwing  overboard  if 
there 's  ever  such  a  capful  o'  wind  to  make  the 
sea  a  bit  roughish.  Your  mother  's  the  only  she- 
thing  in  petticoats  I  've  ever  seen  who  can  hold 
her  tongue  still  between  her  teeth ;  and  even 
she  can  only  do  it  by  not  speaking.  They  're  a 
queer-rigged  craft,  and  no  mistake,  eh,  Sora 
Lucia  ?  is  n't  that  your  experience  ?  You  '11 
have  a  deal  to  do  with  their  tempers  in  the  way 
of  your  business,  I  '11  be  bound." 

"  Well,  Sor  Drea,  it 's  rather  like  the  pins  and 
needles  —  there  are  all  sorts.  And  it  just 
makes  the  difference  how  much  you  can  pay  for 
them,"  said  the  little  woman  primly,  smoothing 
down  the  neat  cuff  of  her  sleeve. 

"  Lucia  likes  women  better  than  men ;  they 
walk  about  the  room  without  making  a  noise  ; 
and  they  understand  about  trimmings,"  remarked 
Palmira,  with  a  toss  of  her  head. 

"  Eh,  little  one,  and  who  asked  your  opinion  ? 
Little  girls  should  be  seen,  you  know,  seen  and 
not  heard  of  —  not  heard  of,"  said  the  old  man 
in  a  voice  of  affected  rebuke.  He  put  out  his 


32  VESTIGIA. 

hand,  and  the  child  came  up  to  him  instantly, 
nestling  against  his  shoulder,  and  rubbing  her 
thin  little  cheek  on  the  rough  sleeve  of  his  coat. 
"  I  don't  mind,  I  'm  not  afraid,  if  you  do  make  a 
noise,"  she  said  softly  in  his  ear. 

"  Nay,  nay,  child.  But  you  should  mind. 
Little  girls  must  mind  what  is  going  on  about 
them,  else  how  are  they  ever  to  learn  their  man- 
ners before  they  grow  up  ?  "  said  Sor  Drea,  still 
in  an  admonitory  tone,  but  patting  the  little 
face  near  him  as  he  spoke  with  a  smile  which 
the  child  understood  better  than  his  words. 
And  then  he  looked  about  him,  "Well,  Dino  — 
Italia,  my  girl!  —  and  how  about  our  supper? 
are  we  not  ready  for  that  birthday  supper  yet  ? " 
he  said  aloud. 

Italia  had  moved  away,  and  was  standing 
beside  the  window.  She  was  perfectly  aware 
that  Dino  had  followed  her  there,  but  some 
sudden  new  shyness  kept  her  silent  and  won- 
dering at  herself.  She  had  pushed  back  the 
scanty  curtain,  and  stood  leaning  her  fore- 
head against  the  coolness  of  the  window-pane. 
Outside  all  was  darkness,  and  one  heard  the 
sound  of  the  breaking  waves.  It  was  a  rough 
night,  she  thought  to  herself :  and  tried  to  say 
it,  but  somehow  she  could  not  speak  :  the  words 
stuck  in  her  throat,  and  would  not  frame  them- 
selves. In  that  singular  moment  she  seemed  to 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER.  33 

be  leading  a  double  life;  —  the  old  existence 
was  there,  the  old  safe  habit  of  home  and  her 
father's  voice  heard  beside  the  fire  ;  and  here  — 
here  was  something  different,  an  unknown  feel- 
ing of  oppression, —  an  anguish  of  self-conscious- 
ness, pierced  with  sudden  flashes  of  a  new 
unfamiliar  joy.  And  yet  this  was  only  Dino, 
whom  she  had  known  all  her  life  ;  Dino,  her  old 
tyrant  and  protector  and  playfellow  — 

"  You  are  not  angry  now  ?  My  father  did  not 
mean  all  that  he  said  ;  he  did  not  mean  to  be 
unkind  —  to  you,"  she  said  abruptly,  turning  her 
face  still  farther  away  and  looking  out  into 
the  blackness. 

There  was  no  answer  for  a  moment,  and  her 
heart  began  to  beat  faster. 

"It  is  —  it  is  a  very  rough  night,"  she  said  in 
a  still  lower  voice,  the  words  forcing  themselves 
out  at  last.  And  then  she  turned  her  head 
slowly  towards  him. 

She  did  not  lift  her  eyes  to  his  face,  but  she 
was  aware  that  he  moved.  He  had  been  leaning 
one  arm  against  the  window-frame  ;  her  own 
hands  were  clasped  together  and  resting  upon 
the  ledge.  She  saw  him  move  his  arm,  and 
felt  the  warm  pressure  of  a  strong  hand  laid 
upon  both  of  hers.  She  stood  quite  still,  breath- 
ing very  softly. 

"Italia!" 


34 


VESTIGIA. 


He  was  gazing  at  her  with  all  his  soul  in  his 
eyes, —  with  a  transfigured  face  which  she  had 
never  seen  before  ;  he  spoke  in  a  new  voice. 
"Italia!"  Was  it  a  prayer  —  a  command? 
The  girl  shivered  from  head  to  foot.  She 
turned  very  pale,  and  then,  slowly,  she  lifted  up 
her  glorious  eyes  full  of  a  new  resplendent  light 
of  joy,  and  they  stood  silent  for  a  long,  long  mo- 
ment, gazing  at  one  another  with  the  full,  serious 
inquiring  look  of  familiar  souls  new  met  in  some 
strange  heaven. 

"  Italia ! "  said  her  father's  voice  again,  and 
she  turned  to  him  at  once  with  a  simultaneous 
movement  of  her  whole  being.  These  last  mo- 
ments were  not  a  thing  to  be  thought  of  now  ; 
she  put  them  entirely  on  one  side  with  a  feeling 
of  definite  possession  ;  it  was  something  to  be  re- 
membered and  realized  later  on,  when  she  was 
alone.  She  went  up  now  to  her  father  and  laid 
her  little  hands  upon  his  shoulder  caressingly, 
with  something  of  the  sensation  of  having  re- 
turned to  him  from  afar.  Her  face  was  a  little 
pale  perhaps,  but  she  smiled,  and  no  one  noticed 
her  paleness.  It  is  the  way  with  the  great  crises 
of  our  mental  experience :  they  pass  us  by  in  si- 
lence. Angels  visit  us  for  good  or  ill ;  the  shad- 
ows of  night  gather  deeper,  or  our  dawn  grows 
red  with  promise, —  and  nothing  has  taken  place 
which  was  noticeable  even  to  very  affectionate 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER. 


35 


eyes.  It  is  not  all  insensibility  in  the  lookers- 
on.  At  every  marriage  procession,  as  at  every 
funeral,  there  must  be  some  person  present  whose 
chief  interest  lies  in  the  trappings,  —  in  the  work- 
man-like manner  in  which  the  wheels  go  around 
a  corner,  and  how  the  horses  carry  their  heads. 
And  life  teaches  that,  as  it  teaches  patience. 

It  was  some  time  before  anything  more  was 
said  concerning  Dino's  prospects.  When  a  man's 
daily  food  is  the  measure  of  his  degree  of  success 
in  the  world,  conversation  at  table  means  chiefly 
an  interruption.  So  that  it  was  some  time  be- 
fore old  Drea  pushed  away  his  plate  and  drew 
his  glass  nearer,  rubbing  the  back  of  one  hand 
across  his  lips  with  a  deep-drawn  breath  of  sat- 
isfaction, while  with  the  other  he  fumbled  in  his 
pocket  for  his  pipe.  It  was  only  a  small  flask 
of  cheap  thin  country  wine  which  stood  upon 
the  table  before  him,  but  he  passed  it  over  to 
Dino  with  an  air  of  simple  satisfaction  and 
pride,  a  cordial  and  affectionate  pleasure  in  his 
own  hospitality,  which  might  well  have  softened 
a  harsher  beverage. 

"  Drink,  lad.  Don't  stint  yourself.  Wine  was 
made  for  drinking.  Lord,  'tis  one  more  reason 
for  not  being  a  woman.  Look  at  Italia  there. 
You'd  think  an  old  sailor's  daughter  would 
know  better  than  to  care  for  any  water  that 
is  n't  salt  water,  eh,  boy?  And  Sora  Lucia,  too, 


36  VESTIGIA. 

sip,  sipping,  with  her  head  on  one  side  like  a  fly. 
But  there,  she  is  not  to  be  laughed  at,  for  a 
pluckier  little  woman —  Lord,  how  she  did 
fight  that  wind !  You  did  n't  well  know  which 
of  you  was  running  away  with  the  other,  eh, 
Lucia  ?  Well,  well,  after  all,  a  fly  kicks  as  hard 
as  it  can  —  " 

"  Did  Lucia  kick  ?  I  should  have  liked  to  see 
her,"  said  the  child  Palmira,  looking  up.  A 
smile  like  her  brother's  smile  lit  up  with  a  sud- 
den brightness  her  pale,  small  face. 

"  Indeed,  Sor  Drea  was  far  too  busy  thinking 
of  his  boat ;  he  knows  nothing  about  what  I 
did,"  the  little  dressmaker  retorted  briskly,  with 
a  toss  of  her  head,  which  made  the  black  beads 
glisten.  Her  face,  too,  was  warmed  and  dilated 
by  the  sense  of  plenty  about  her, —  the  wine  and 
fire  and  supper.  Her  black  eyes  shone  de- 
murely, the  hollow  cheeks  were  flushed,  she  had 
lost  for  the  moment  something  of  her  habitual 
air  of  suppression, —  an  air  of  decent  disappoint- 
ment with  life. 

The  old  man  laughed  good-humoredly.  "  Hark 
to  her  —  hark  to  the  child,  will  you  ?  Ay,  quick 
and  sharp,  and  down  on  you  before  you  know 
where  you  are.  She  's  her  mother's  own  daugh- 
ter—  in  all  but  looks.  She  was  always  a  tall 
girl,  was  Catarina,  and  a  step  and  an  eye  like  a 
queen,  —  an  eye  that  went  through  you.  But 


FATHER   AND  DAUGHTER.  37 

never  you  mind,  Lucia;  'tis  better  to  be  the 
head  of  an  eel  than  the  tail  of  the  biggest  stur- 
geon, to  my  way  of  thinking.  Ay,  do  your  best 
in  this  world  as  you  find  it,  and  if  any  one 
else  can  do  better,  why,  let  'em  show  you  how 
't  is  done.  That 's  my  way  of  thinking.  And 
now  — "  he  leaned  back,  thrusting  both  hands 
into  his  trousers'  pockets  and  shifting  his  pipe  to 
the  other  corner  of  his  mouth.  "  And  now  about 
this  business  of  yours,  lad  ? " 

Dino  looked  up  with  a  start  from  his  occupa- 
tion of  drawing  patterns  upon  the  table  with  a 
little  heap  of  bread  crumbs.  "  I  wanted  to  ask 
your  advice  about  that,"  he  began  doubtfully. 

"Well,  ask  it.  Advice  costs  no  headache, 
boy.  You  may  borrow  another  man's  compass 
to  steer  by  even  when  he  can't  lend  you  the 
wind.  Stop  a  bit,  though.  We'll  begin  with 
the  beginning,  by  your  leave."  His  face,  which 
time  and  exposure  to  the  weather  had  so  stiffened 
and  tanned  that  it  had  grown  well-nigh  impossi- 
ble to  detect  any  of  the  slighter  changes  of  ex- 
pression upon  it,  —  his  face  looked  as  rigid  and 
impassive  as  a  piece  of  wood.  "It's  really  all 
over  with  you  now  at  your  office  ?  no  chance  of 
making  it  up  again  with  the  masters  ?  They 
would  n't  take  you  back  again,  eh  ? " 

"Why,  as  for  that,"  said  Dino  hastily,  "I 
would  not  go  back  if  they  all  came  here  together, 


38  VESTIGIA. 

in  a  body,  to  ask  me."  He  looked  across  the 
table  at  Italia.  "  I  am  an  eel's  head  too,  sir,  — 
like  Lucia  there,"  he  said  smiling.  "  I  've  been 
a  sturgeon's  tail  long  enough.  I  'm  tired  of 
being  wagged  when  I  'd  rather  be  quiet." 

"  And  so  you  want  to  show  your  teeth,  you 
young  rascal ! "  called  out  Drea,  with  another 
great  laugh,  and  filling  up  his  glass.  "  Nay,  lad, 
but  it  is  a  pity  you  were  not  bred  for  a  sailor. 
You've  a  good  notion  of  your  own,  too,  about 
handling  a  boat.  But  your  mother  would  never 
have  heard  of  it,  not  she.  Bless  you  !  she 's  been 
up  too  much  to  the  Villa  to  see  the  old  Marchesa 
—  by  her  leave  and  meaning  no  offence  —  to 
listen  to  reason.  That 's  the  way  with  women  : 
they  want  a  bit  of  every  shining  thing  they  see. 
And  nothing's  too  good  for  them.  It's  my  be- 
lief they'd  use  diamonds  to  fasten  up  their  sleeves 
with  if  they  could  get  at  'em,  and  think  nothing 
of  it." 

"  I  know  we  should  want  to  begin  by  fastening 
up  yours,  father,"  said  Italia  in  her  soft  gentle 
way.  Her  glance  met  Dino's  as  she  spoke,  and 
she  looked  down  again  with  smiling  lips  and 
cheeks  grown  suddenly  red. 

"Your  mother  was  always  a  proud  woman, 
always,"  the  old  man  went  on  meditatively,  star- 
ing at  the  blue  rings  of  smoke  curling  up  from 
his  pipe.  "She  took  life  hard.  And  she  meant 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER. 


39 


to  make  a  gentleman  of  you  from  the  first.  She 
was  proud,  that  is  why  she  married  your  father. 
And  she  did  not  want  you  down  on  our  level. 
She  meant  to  make  a  gentleman  of  you,  you 
see  —  " 

"A  fine  gentleman  !  "  Dino  burst  out  eagerly. 
"  Sor  Drea,  is  this  fair  ?  Have  I  ever  had,  have 
I  ever  wanted,  other  friends  than  you  ?  I  don't 
know  what  you  mean  by  talking  about  different 
levels  ;  but  Italia  knows  —  you  ought  to  know  — 
if  I  have  ever  done  anything  to  deserve  to  have 
this  said  to  me.  Why,  all  the  happiness  I  have 
ever  had  in  my  life  I  have  had  here,"  he  said, 
with  a  quick  comprehensive  glance  around  him 
at  the  old  familiar  walls.  All  the  associations 
of  his  boyhood  seemed  lurking  in  those  shadowy 
corners.  "I  can  understand  that  you  are  not 
particularly  well  satisfied  with  me  now.  I  'm 
not  particularly  well  satisfied  with  myself.  It 's 
not  a  brilliant  look-out  for  the  future.  But  why 
should  n't  I  work  as  well  as  another  man  ?  They 
never  found  any  fault  with  my  work  in  that  in- 
fernal office.  Why,  even  the  head  clerk  there, 
Sor  Checco  —  he  hates  me  —  if  he  owned  a 
donkey  he  would  call  it  Dino  for  the  pleasure  of 
kicking  it  ;  but  even  he  could  never  find  fault. 
There's  plenty  to  be  done.  My  mother,  now, 
her  one  idea  is  to  go  up  to  the  Villa  to  talk  to 
the  Marchesa  —  " 


40  VESTIGIA. 

"  Ay,  't  is  a  good  plan  —  a  good  plan.  Look 
there,  now !  I  should  never  have  thought  of 
that.  But  she  has  a  head  on  her  shoulders,  has 
your  mother,"  the  old  man  said  admiringly,  clap- 
ping the  palm  of  his  hand  down  heavily  upon  the 
table.  "  Fill  up,  boy,  fill  up,  and  we'll  drink  good 
luck  to  her  going.  That 's  right  and  as  it  should 
be.  For  one  works  for  the  masters  here  as  one 
prays  to  the  saints  in  Heaven,  and  they  know 
best  what 's  wanted  in  both  places.  Lord  bless 
you !  if  one  had  to  stop  to  discuss  matters  with 
'em,  there  'd  be  no  time  left  to  work  in.  That 's 
my  way  of  thinking.  Commando.  cJii pol  e  obid- 
isca  chi  deve.  'T  would  be  a  poor  way  of  travel- 
ling if  all  the  crew  wanted  to  steer." 

"Why,  as  to  that — "  began  Dino,  pushing 
away  his  glass  impatiently.  "Look  here,  Sor 
Drea.  You  were  speaking  of  my  father  a  mo- 
ment ago.  I  was  very  fond  of  my  father  —  " 

"  Ay,  lad." 

"  You  never  knew  him  well.  You  never  un- 
derstood him." 

Old  Drea  took  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth 
and  looked  at  it  carefully.  "  Perhaps  not,"  he 
said. 

"  You  never  understood  him.  You  thought 
he  was  aping  the  manners  and  customs  of  his 
betters,  when  all  the  while  —  poor  father!  But 
let  that  pass.  He  taught  me  one  thing,  at  any 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER.  4I 

rate,  for  which  I  am  more  thankful  to  him  every 
day  that  I  live.  He  taught  me  that  there  are 
wants  and  wishes  in  a  man  —  yes,  and  rights  too 
—  that  are  too  strong  to  be  choked  off  with  a 
good  dinner,  and  too  old  to  be  taught  to  drop 
courtesies  to  every  fine  dress  and  fine  title  they 
may  chance  to  come  across.  I  '11  have  nothing 
to  do  with  it  all,  for  my  part,  nothing.  And  I  've 
told  my  mother  so.  If  she  chooses  to  depend 
upon  the  old  Marchesa's  protection,  well  and 
good.  Perhaps  it  suits  a  woman's  nature  to  sit 
through  rainstorms  waiting  for  the  sun  to  shine. 
I  know  nothing  about  it.  I  only  know  it  doesn't 
suit  me.  I  went  into  that  office  to  please  my 
mother,  and  I'm  ashamed  of  having  been  in 
there.  I  'm  ashamed  of  having  held  my  tongue 
for  three  years  for  the  sake  of  wearing  a  black 
coat  and  having  the  office  boy  answer,  'Yes, 
sir ! '  when  I  told  him  to  fetch  me  a  glass  of 
water.  They  were  quite  right  to  turn  me  out  for 
taking  part  in  that  demonstration  :  it  was  a  fool- 
ish thing  in  itself,  but  what  it  meant  wasn't 
foolish.  And  it  meant  more  than  they  knew. 
As  for  myself,"  the  young  man  added  vehement- 
ly, with  a  sudden  flush  all  over  his  pale  dark 
face,  "  I  agree  with  my  father.  If  I  had  the 
power,  I  would  make  every  title  in  Europe  a 
thing  to  put  into  a  museum,  along  with  the  other 
dead  things  in  the  dust.  I  am  a  Republican." 


42  VESTIGIA. 

He  looked  straight  across  the  table  at  Sor  Drea. 
"  I  am  a  red  Republican,"  he  repeated. 

"  Ah ! "  said  Italia  quickly,  and  turning,  laid 
her  hand  in  mute  appeal  upon  her  father's  arm. 

But  he  only  patted  the  little  hand  kindly,  look- 
ing back  at  Dino  with  more  of  amusement  than 
surprise  in  his  keen  old  eyes.  "  Ay,  lad.  We  Ve 
all  been  young  in  our  time,"  he  said  simply. 
"  Things  never  struck  me  in  that  fashion  ;  but 
there !  it 's  all  a  matter  of  chance,  like  having 
the  fever.  Perhaps  if  they  'd  fastened  me  up  in 
a  black  coat  and  tied  me  by  the  leg  to  a  desk 
when  I  was  a  youngster  like  you,  things  'ud  have 
seemed  different  to  me.  I  might  have  been 
longer  finding  out  for  myself  that  the  sun  goes 
on  shining  just  the  same  if  you  keep  your  own, 
umbrella  shut  or  open.  The  good  God  lets  us 
do,  but  he  does  n't  let  us  overdo.  Mind  that. 
There's  things  that  are  settled  for  us;  settled 
before  we  were  born  ;  but  it  takes  a  baby  a  good 
while  to  make  quite  sure  that  the  walls  of  the^" 
house  can't  be  got  to  move  by  its  pushing  at  'em. 
—  That's  one  way  I  used  to  keep  my  little  girl 
there  quiet  when  she  was  a  mite  of  a  thing,  so 
high,  when  she  used  to  cry  to  come  and  sit  be- 
side me  in  the  boat  while  I  was  cleaning  the  fish, 
and  believed  she  was  making  the  water  rock  her 
by  shaking  the  rudder  with  her  soft  little  fingers. 
Ay,  so  she  did  —  so  she  did." 


FATHER  AND  DAUGHTER. 


43 


He  puffed  slowly  away  at  his  pipe  as  if  he  had 
finished  speaking.  But  when  Dino  leaned  for- 
ward as  if  about  to  reply,  the  old  man  checked 
him  with  a  warning  movement  of  his  finger. 
He  was  evidently  ruminating  some  plan,  for 
presently  he  added  :  — 

"I'm  not  blaming  you  for  what  you've  done, 
lad ;  though,  Lord,  Lord,  what  a  chap  the  one 
must  be  who  let  you  do  it !  But  there  —  it  takes 
all  sorts  of  days  to  make  up  one  week.  And  I'm  . 
not  saying  you  are  not  as  well  out  o'  that  place 
as  in  it.  There  are  some  men  that  it 's  cheaper 
to  lose  'em  than  to  find  'em  ;^ay,  and  places  , 
too.  The  bread  of  service  is  baked  with  seven 
crusts  ;  —  it 's  not  suited  to  every  man's  stomach.  u 
Look,  my  Dino,"  the  old  man  added  slowly. 
"  We  are  all  friends  here,  Lucia  and  all  of  us. 
And  I  Ve  known  you,  man  and  boy,  since  you 
and  the  child  there  used  to  play  i'  the  old  boat 
together.  I  never  had  a  son  of  my  own,  but  if 
I  had  had  there  'ud  be  two  of  us  to  keep,  and 
two  of  us  to  look  after  the  little  girl  ;  that  'ud  be 
all  the  difference.  And  if  you're  minded,  now 
you're  out  of  other  work,  if  you're  minded  to 
come  and  have  a  try  at  it,  lad,  why,  there's  my 
hand  on  it.  There  's  plenty  would  n't  let  another 
man  set  his  foot  in  their  boat  unless  they  could 
clap  a  plaster  o'  stamped  paper  on  the  spot  he 
first  stepped  on;  but  that's  not  my  way  o'  think- 


44 


VESTIGIA. 


ing.  An  old  ox  keeps  a  straight  furrow.  We 
don't  need  'greements,  you  and  I.  We'll  just 
have  Sora  Lucia  there  to  witness,  and  there  's 
my  hand  on  it  if  it  pleases  you  to  say  '  Done  ! '  " 

The  three  silent  spectators  of  this  scene  had 
been  listening  to  what  was  said  in  feminine  fash- 
ion,, watching  the  faces  of  the  two  men  rather 
than  their  words ;  and  now,  as  they  clasped 
hands  across  the  supper  table,  Italia  could  no 
longer  control  her  excitement.  Her  hands 
turned  cold  :  she  rose  from  her  seat :  she  went 
up  to  Lucia  and  threw  her  arms  about  the  good 
little  woman's  neck. 

"  There,  my  little  girl,  there.  It 's  nothing  to 
cry  about,"  the  old  father  said  tenderly.  He 
turned  to  Dino.  "  There 's  two  of  us  to  look 
after  her  and  take  care  of  her  now." 

"  So  help  me,  God,  I  will,"  the  young  man 
answered  passionately.  He  looked  at  Italia  full 
in  the  face. 

"  I  am  her  servant.  I  would  give  my  life  for 
her,  and  she  knows  it,"  he  said  simply,  with  all 
his  soul  lighting  up  his  eager  eyes. 

Her  hand  was  hanging  loosely  by  her  side  ;  he 
took  the  little  hand  in  his  and  looked  at  it  for  an 
instant,  and  raised  it  to  his  lips  and  kissed  it. 

"  I  am  her  servant,  if  she  will  have  me,"  he  said. 

Before  any  one  had  time  to  answer  there 
came  a  loud  sharp  knock  at  the  outer  door. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE   YOUNG  MASTER. 

THE  young  man  who  entered,  not  waiting  to 
have  his  knock  answered,  but  throwing  the  door 
wide  open  before  him  with  an  easy  air  of  good- 
natured  authority, — this  new-comer,  was  dressed 
in  the  uniform  of  an  officer  of  the  King's  Guards. 
As  he  came  into  the  low  smoke-embrowned  room 
he  was  at  once  the  brightest  object  there  ;  the 
fire-light  caught  and  flashed  upon  all  manner  of 
resplendent  buttons  and  knots  and  gold  lacings, 
and  on  the  shining  hilt  of  his  sword.  His  long, 
glittering  spurs  rang  sharply  against  the  bare 
stone  floor.  "  It  is  the  Prince  out  of  the  fairy 
tale,  Italia ;  the  fairy  Prince,"  said  little  Palmira 
breathlessly,  and  stared  with  her  great  brown 
eyes,  clutching  at  Italia's  hand. 

"The  Marchese  Gasparo!  the  young  mas- 
ter ! "  old  Drea  cried  out  in  a  loud  voice,  pulling 
off  his  round  woollen  cap. 

They  all  stood  up,  even  Dino,  who  strolled 
away  a  few  steps  from  the  table  to  the  fireplace, 
where  he  began  fingering  a  small  dusty  model 


46  VESTIGIA. 

of  a  boat :  it  had  stood  in  that  same  place, 
between  two  handfuls  of  shells,  as  far  back  as  he 
could  remember  anything. 

"  I  only  came  home  to-day.  I've  lost  no  time 
in  looking  you  up,  old  Drea.  My  mother  was  not 
expecting  me  back  so  soon,  and  half  the  rooms 
are  shut  up  at  the  Villa, — the  house  is  as  musty 
as  a  tomb.  It  was  so  dull  I  could  n't  stay  in 
after  dinner,"  the  young  Marchese  said,  with  a 
quick,  comprehensive  glance  at  the  two  women 
present.  His  open  face  grew  still  more  frankly 
bright  at  the  sight  of  Italia ;  he  took  a  step 
forward  and  doffed  his  cap,  and  made  her  a  pro- 
found and  smiling  bow. 

"And  this  is  my  little  playmate,  then;  this  is 
the  little  girl  who  used  to  go  out  with  us  in  the 
old  boat  while  Drea  was  teaching  me  to  fish," 
he  said,  looking  at  her  hard. 

"Ay,  she  's  grown,  she's  grown,  my  little  girl 
has.  Per  Bacco  !  it 's  six  years  now,  or  more, 
since  you  have  seen  her  ;  it 's  no  wonder  if  you 
find  her  changed,  signor  Marchese." 

"I  find  her  —  changed!"  the  young  man 
echoed,  smiling.  The  tone  of  his  voice  was  a 
r&sum£  of  all  unspoken  compliments.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  of  what  he  thought  of  this 
alteration ;  and  Dino,  by  the  fireplace,  looked 
around  with  a  sudden  sharp  pang  of  jealousy 
and  wonder. 


THE   YOUNG  MASTER. 


47 


He  had  not  spoken,  but  no  movement  seemed 
to  escape  the  soldier's  quick  keen  glance. 

"What!  Dino? — Dino  de'  Rossi?  Why,  man, 
what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  You  look  like 
a  thunder-cloud.  Aren't  you  glad  to  see  me 
home  again,  then  ? "  the  young  Marquis  asked 
laughingly,  and  was  pleased  to  hold  out  his 
hand  to  his  old  acquaintance  and  foster-brother, 
bidding  him  cheer  up  and  not  stand  there  sulk- 
ing, "  if  it  were  only  out  of  respect  to  the  signo- 
rina's  beautiful  eyes." 

"Nay,  she  is  no  signorina  ;  her  name  is  Italia, 
at  the  signor  Marchese's  service,"  old  Drea  in- 
terposed, gravely  enough.  Young  men  would 
be  young  men  ;  but  it  would  be  well  if  the  Mar- 
chese  Gasparo  should  recollect  the  difference, 
and  to  be  spoken  of  in  this  way  by  one  of  the 
"padroni"  brought  with  it  an  uneasy  sense  of 
incongruity:  it  was  like  one  of  the  gods  walking 
upon  the  earth  and  claiming  human  familiarity. 
Old  Drea  probably  cared  more  about  pleasing 
his  young  master  than  for  any  other  thing  in 
the  world  unconnected  with  Italia.  He  was 
very  susceptible  to  the  influences  of  education 
and  rank.  "Ay,  there  are  differences  between 
us  workingmen  just  as  there  are  differences 
between  the  donkeys  ;  but  your  cleverest  don- 
key will  only  think  of  seven  tricks,  while  his 
master  can  think  of  eight,"  he  had  said  to  Dino 


48  VESTIGIA. 

only  a  day  or  two  before  ;  and  the  fact  that  "the 
masters "  knew  best  was  a  quite  unquestioned 
source  of  comfort  and  satisfaction  to  the  loyal, 
simple-hearted  old  man.  All  genuine  reverence 
implies  a  certain  poetry  of  nature ;  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  romantic  admiration  —  the  old  feel- 
ing of  the  clansman  to  his  chief  —  mixed  up 
with  the  affection  and  respect  with  which  he 
contemplated  his  young  guest.  And  Gasparo 
was  well  aware  of  the  fact.  He  liked  the  old 
man,  too,  in  his  way ;  above  all,  he  liked  to 
be  liked.  All  pleasant  sensations  were  natural 
to  him,  and  the  simple  admiration  which  sur- 
rounded him  now  was  warm  and  agreeable,  like 
the  sunshine.  Things  had  not  been  made  quite 
so  pleasant  to  him  at  the  Villa.  He  had  found 
the  household  unprepared  to  receive  him,  the 
house  in  disorder,  and  the  old  Marchesa,  his 
mother,  more  grimly  logical  than  complaisant 
on  the  subject  of  his  gambling  debts.  But  here, 
at  least,  there  was  no  fear  of  encountering  irri- 
tating criticism.  He  was  always  ready  to  do  a 
good-natured  thing  en  bon  prince ;  and  now,  as 
he  took  a  seat  beside  the  table  —  it  was  Drea's 
chair  —  and  let  the  old  man  fill  him  up  a  glass 
of  the  sour  wine,  it  was  impossible  altogether 
to  resist  the  charm  and  gayety  of  his  manner. 
There  was  something  satisfactory  and  winning 
in  the  very  tones  of  his  voice,  in  the  glance  of 


THE   YOUNG  MASTER. 


49 


his  quick  smiling  eyes,  in  the  firm,  ready  pres- 
sure of  his  hand.  When  he  asked  Italia  to  sing 
him  a  song,  which  he  did  presently,  it  was  with 
the  air  of  pleading  for  some  favor. 

"  The  child 's  ready  enough  to  sing  ;  and 
proud  enough  she  ought  to  be  to  think  you 
should  have  remembered  her  voice  all  these 
years.  But  she  was  always  like  a  little  singing 
bird,  when  she  was  no  higher  than  my  knee. 
Lord  !  how  well  I  can  remember  it,  —  taking 
her  out  with  me  in  the  old  boat,  and  she,  no 
bigger  than  that,  sitting  on  the  nets  and  singing 
away  to  herself,  soft  like,  till  you  could  think  of 
nothing  else  but  a  summer  morning,  when  the 
boat  is  anchored  off  shore,  and  the  larks  are  just 
rising  in  the  meadows.  But  there !  '  t  is  I  am 
keeping  the  Captain  from  his  music  after  all," 
old  Drea  said,  with  an  apologetic  laugh. 

Italia  had  taken  her  guitar  from  Dino's  hands  ; 
she  took  it  with  a  smile  and  a  blush,  as  she  had 
taken  the  Captain's  pretty  speeches,  and  moved 
away  to  the  other  end  of  the  room.  Her  voice 
was  the  lowest,  sweetest  contralto.  When  she 
began  to  sing,  her  face  grew  serious  and  com- 
posed. 

"  Why  does  Italia  look  so  unhappy  as  that  ? 
She  looks  like  one  of  the  saints  on  the  cathedral 
window,  as  if  she  were  saying  her  prayers,"  Pal- 
mira whispered  into  Lucia's  ear.  She  was  awe- 
4 


,jO  VESTIGIA. 

struck  with  admiration  of  the  Captain's  sword, 
which  he  had  taken  off  before  sitting  down  at 
the  table.  "  Do  you  think,  Lucia,  —  do  you 
think  he  would  let  me  touch  it  if  Italia  were  to 
ask  him  ?  "  she  said. 

The  Captain  did  not  seem  in  the  humor  to 
object  to  anything.  The  song — or  was  it  the 
singer  ?  —  had  given  him  far  more  pleasure  than 
he  had  expected.  He  told  her  so,  after  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation. 

"  Indeed,  I  am  very  glad,  sir.  I  shall  be  very 
glad  to  sing  for  you  as  much  as  you  like,  and 
father  pleases,"  Italia  answered,  looking  at  him 
with  a  great  deal  of  kindness  and  pleasure.  In- 
deed, every  instinct  of  her  nature  was  always 
prompting  her  to  do  some  kindness  to  some  one. 
As  she  sat  there  on  her  low  seat,  bending  over 
her  guitar,  the  firelight  shining  full  upon  her 
small,  dark  head  and  flushed  cheeks,  and  on  the 
movement  of  her  little,  brown  wrists,  Dino  could 
not  turn  his  gaze  away  from  her.  Another 
man's  admiration  is  a  background  against  which 
many  an  ordinary  woman  has  shone  clad  in  un- 
accustomed graces  to  her  lover's  eyes.  But  in 
this  case  Dino  wanted  no  confirming  in  his  de- 
votion :  it  was  only  that  seeing  her  there,  listen- 
ing to  another  man's  compliments,  had  given  a 
slight  shock  to  the  sense  of  unquestioning  secu- 
rity which  had  grown  up  with  him  .since  the 


THE   YOUNG  MASTER.  5I 

very  first  earliest  days  of  his  love.  Already  he 
began  to  look  back  with  some  jealous  uneasiness 
at  the  past  years  when  Italia  had  seemed  as 
much  his,  and  as  much  a  necessity  of  his  being 
as  the  breath  he  drew.  True,  he  had  never 
spoken  to  her  about  it,  at  least  not  in  so  many 
definite  words ;  that  was  partly  because  she  was 
still  so  young,  —  only  eighteen  on  this  birthday, 
—  and  partly  too  that  there  had  seemed  no  need 
for  vexing  his  mother  beforehand :  he  had  not 
money  enough  to  marry  upon  as  yet,- -and  his 
mother  was  sure  to  object ;  she  had  always  dis- 
couraged his  being  so  much  at  Drea's.  But  now 
all  these  considerations  seemed  to  go  for  noth- 
ing, to  become  futile  and  irrelevant  seen  in  the 
light  of  this  new  possibility  that  another  man 
could  step  in  and  attempt  to  carry  away  his  own 
especial  treasure  from  before  his  very  eyes. 
Dino  had  but  little  of  old  Andrea's  capacity  for 
personal  reverence ;  there  was  not  enough  mod- 
esty in  his  own  nature  for  that ;  so  that  it  did 
not  strike  him  as  so  utterly  preposterous  that  a 
man  in  the  young  Marchese's  position  should 
fall  seriously  in  love  with  a  fisherman's  daughter. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  was  always  a  certain 
doubt  lurking  at  the  bottom  of  his  strongest  as- 
sertions of  equality.  He  had  no  weight  of  sim- 
ple conviction  to  steady  his  possession  of  the 
theories  which  attracted  him  the  most.  There 


52  VESTIGIA. 

was  always  a  struggle  between  his  intelligence 
and  his  instincts.  Things  outside  and  away 
from  his  creed  of  conduct  appealed  to  him. 
He  could  not  take  life  simply :  there  was  the 
exaggeration  of  effort  in  his  innermost  beliefs. 
He  looked  at  Italia :  he  looked  with  almost  more 
than  a  woman's  sensitiveness  to  material  im- 
pressions at  the  gallant  and  determined  bearing 
of  the  man  beside  her,  whose  frank  and  noble 
beauty  was  only  like  an  additional  distinction, — 
an  emphasis  of  class  differences.  No  devout 
believer  in  the  divinest  rights  of  kings  could 
have  recognized  those  differences  more  keenly 
than  Dino  did  at  that  moment.  For  there  is 
nothing  ambiguous  in  the  secret  language  of 
jealousy:  "And  they  say  —  we  say  —  that  one 
man  is  as  good  as  another  without  regard  to  his 
rank  !  I  was  a  fool  —  a  fool,"  De  Rossi  re- 
flected bitterly. 

Gasparo  seemed  to  have  a  talent  for  seeing 
everything.  He  took  his  cigarette  case  out  of 
his  pocket  and  asked  old  Drea  for  a  light ;  then 
he  said  :  "  There  are  changes.  Why,  even  the 
old  gardens  up  there  at  the  Villa  seem  to  have 
grown  smaller.  I.  remember  I  thought  there 
was  no  end  to  them  when  I  was  a  boy." 

"  Ay,  there 's  something  in  a  place,  but 
there  's  more  in  the  eye  that  looks  at  it.  And 
you  '11  have  seen  a  many  fine  places  since  then, 


THE   YOUNG  MASTER. 


53 


sir,  and  a  many  fine  people,  I  '11  warrant.  It 's 
only  the  little  people  and  the  little  places  in  life 
that  don't  change  much  ;  they  're  away  down  at 
the  bottom,  in  the  still  water,  out  o'  reach  o'  the 
tide.  You  '11  not  find  much  change  in  us,  sir. 
There  's  not  a  question  if  we  're  proud  and  glad 
to  see  you  back." 

"  Oh,  if  there  's  any  change  among  you  it 's 
not  of  the  kind  I  'm  finding  fault  with,"  the 
young  man  said,  glancing  again  at  Italia  ;  "  only 
it  makes  one  feel  how  much  time  has  passed. 
Why,  you  must  be  getting  an  old  man  now  your- 
self, Drea — beginning  to  think  about  giving  up 
work  and  settling  down  for  a  bit  —  while  you 
look  out  for  a  husband  for  Italia.  You  '11  need 
to  find  a  good  fellow.  But  perhaps  you  have 
done  that  already." 

"  Nay,  as  for  that,  —  the  little  girl  can  wait  for 
a  bit,  —  she  can  wait  a  bit  yet,"  her  father  an- 
swered slowly,  taking  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth 
and  knocking  the  ashes  on  the  table.  "  Our 
girls  are  not  like  the  young  ladies  you  're  ac- 
customed to,  sir,  —  with  nothing  to  do  but  sit  in 
their  chairs  while  they  pick  and  choose.  Gentle- 
folks —  Lord  bless  you !  they  've  got  one  para- 
dise here  on  earth,  and,  as  for  the  other  one, 
they  've  got  plenty  o'  money  to  spend  in  masses, 
—  they  've  only  got  to  pay  for  it.  But  with  us 
'tis  different,  you  see."  He  took  up  his  glass 


54  VESTIGIA. 

of  wine,  looked  at  it  thoughtfully  for  a  moment, 
and  then  emptied  its  contents  down  his  throat 
with  a  sudden  jerk  of  his  wrist.  "  And  I  'd 
never  be  one  to  urge  a  girl  to  jump  at  the  first 
comer,"  he  said  cheerfully,  leaning  across  the 
narrow  table  to  emphasize  his  remark.  "  No, 
no,  patience  never  spoilt  any  man's  luck.  And 
the  biggest  fish ;  they  're  often  nearest  the 
bottom,  —  they  're  nearest  the  bottom,  eh,  Sora 
Lucia  ? " 

"  Gesu  Maria!  how  should  7  know?"  the 
little  woman  murmured  hurriedly,  with  an  apol- 
ogetic look  at  the  young  Marchese.  "  In  my 
time  we  did  not  think  these  things  should  be 
discussed  before  young  —  young  persons,"  she 
said  primly  ;  it  would  have  seemed  a  familiarity 
to  her  if  she  had  used  a  common  expression 
such  as,  "  before  young  girls." 

"  Nay,  nay,  Lucia  mia,  you  won't  make  us 
swallow  that !  "  retorted  Sor  Drea,  with  another 
chuckle  of  supreme  good-humor.  "You  won't 
make  us  swallow  it,  my  dear.  For  you  '11  sooner 
find  an  old  man  without  an  ache  than  a  young 
girl  without  a  lover, — eh,  signer  Marchese? 
'T  is  the  good  Lord  who  made  us  all,  \vho  chose 
to  make  us  in  that  way,  and  where  's  the  harm 
in  speaking  of  it  ?  "  He  filled  his  glass  up  with 
a  more  unsteady  hand.  "  There 's  Dino  over 
there  looking  at  me  like  a  black  thunder-cloud, 


THE    YOUNG  MASTER. 


55 


—  but  I  suppose  I  may  say  what  I  like  about 
my  own  daughter  in  my  own  house,  —  eh,  boy  ?  " 

"  I  was  not  contradicting  you,  Sor  Drea,"  the 
young  man  answered  quietly. 

"  Nay,  lad,  nay,  I  meant  no  malice.  But  it 's 
a  poor  sort  of  business  to  waste  your  breath 
whistling  for  yesterday's  breeze.  Cheer  up,  lad  ! 
There  's  always  plenty  o'  good  work  to  the  fore 
when  a  man 's  ready  to  do  it.  Ready  and 
cheery,  —  even  the  dog  can  earn  his  dinner  by 
wagging  his  tail." 

Gasparo  laughed.  "  Well,  I  must  be  going," 
he  said,  and  stood  up  and  put  out  his  hand  for 
his  belt  and  sword.  As  he  was  buckling  it 
about  him  his  eye  fell  upon  Palmira's  pale 
intent  little  face.  He  sat  down  again. 

"  Come  here,  child,"  he  said,  and  held  out  his 
hand. 

"  Go  to  the  gentleman,  Palmira.  Go  and  tell 
him  what  your  name  is,  like  a  good  little  girl, 
and  don't  be  frightened,"  said  Lucia  hastily, 
with  a  general  tug  at  the  child's  frock. 

Palmira  looked  at  her  with  flashing  eyes.  "  I 
am  not  frightened,"  she  said  indignantly,  and 
went  and  stood  composedly  beside  Gaspare's 
knee. 

When  he  asked,  "  Shall  I  show  you  my 
sword  ? "  her  eyes  flashed  again.  She  held  her 
breath,  and  the  color  rose  in  her  thin  little  cheeks. 


56  VESTIGIA. 

"'May  I  touch  it  ?  "  she  asked,  and  drew  one 
small  forefinger  carefully  across  the  shining 
blade.  After  a  moment's  consideration,  "  Have 
you  killed  many  giants  with  it  ? "  she  said  ;  "  you 
know  —  like  the  fairy  Prince." 

"  Ay,  hark  to  that,  will  you  ?  there  's  a  brave 
little  girl  for  you  ! "  said  old  Drea  with  an  in- 
ward chuckle,  and  an  irrepressible  wink  at  Dino- 
"  She  'd  kill  giants,  would  she  ?  It 's  her 
mother  all  over." 

Gasparo  laughed  again.  "And  what  do  you 
know  about  the  fairy  Prince  ?  " 

"  Italia  told  me.  He  wore  shining  clothes, 
and  a  sword,  and  he  carried  away  the  Princess 
from  the  enchanted  tower.  And  he  was  beau- 
tiful to  look  at,  —  like  you,  Italia  said  —  " 

"  Palmira ! " 

"  Look  here,  my  small  friend,  —  oh,  your  name 
is  Palmira,  is  it  ?  Very  well,  then  ;  look  here, 
Palmira.  Did  nobody  ever  explain  to  you  that 
one  is  not  allowed  in  this  world  to  repeat  what 
other  people  say  until  one  is  old  enough  to 
know  better  ?  No  ?  Well,  then,  remember 
that.  No  girl  is  ever  allowed  to  have  her  own 
way  until  she  is  old  enough  to  do  mischief. 
And  now,  look  here."  He  drew  a  ring  off  his 
finger,  a  plain  band  of  gold  set  with  a  large 
turquoise.  "  Do  you  think  that  is  pretty  ? " 

"Yes,  sir." 


THE   YOUNG  MASTER. 


57 


"  Very  pretty  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Well,  then,  —  under  the  circumstances,  — 
do  you  think  if  we  asked  Sor  Drea,  you  and  I, 
to  let  us  give  it  to  Italia,  because  it  is  her  birth- 
day, and  because  I  have  not  brought  her  any 
other  present,  do  you  think  he  would  let  us 
do  it,  Palmira  ?  Here,  take  the  ring  and  ask 
him." 

Italia  put  down  her  guitar  and  stood  up.  She 
gave  one  rapid  glance  at  Dino,  and  turned  very 
pale.  "  The  Signor  Marchese  is  too  kind, 
father.  Indeed,  I  do  not  want  the  ring.  It  is  — 
it  is  too  beautiful  for  me.  I  should  lose  it." 

"  Nay,"  said  Drea  simply,  "  since  the  Signor 
Marchese  wishes  to  give  it  to  you,  child — "  He 
turned  the  bauble  over  curiously  upon  the  curved 
and  hardened  palm  of  his  hand.  "  Craving  your 
pardon,  Signor  Gasparo,  but  is  it  gold  ?  " 

Gasparo  put  his  hand  up  to  his  mouth  and 
twisted  his  moustache  to  conceal  a  smile. 
"  Certainly,"  he  said. 

"  Real  gold  ?  Diamine  !  it  is  not  often  that 
I  Ve  handled  it.  And  that  little  blue  thing  there 
in  the  middle,  has  that  got  a  name  of  its  own  ? " 

"  'T  is  a  turquoise.  They  are  said  to  bring  good 
luck  and  happiness,"  the  young  man  said  care- 
lessly enough.  And  then  he  looked  with  a  cer- 
tain reproach  at  Italia.  "  If  I  had  known  I 


58  VESTIGIA. 

might  have  found  you  something  that  would 
have  pleased  you  better  —  " 

"  No  one  ever  made  me  a  present  before.  I 
—  Father  knows  that  I  am  not  used  to  them," 
the  girl  said  shyly.  She  took  Palmira's  hand  in 
hers,  and  began  stroking  the  little  fingers. 

"  Nay,  take  it,  my  little  girl,  take  it.  And  put 
it  away  in  some  safe  place.  Keep  it  to  be 
married  with.  'T  will  be  so  much  money  saved 
when  we  come  to  think  of  your  wedding.  And 
't  will  be  a  fine  thing  to  remember  —  when 
you've  got  children  of  your  own  —  that  you 
were  married  with  a  gold  ring  off  our  young 
master's  own  finger.  It  was  very  kind  of  you  to 
think  of  it,  sir  ;  it 's  not  every  one  would  ha' 
thought  of  anything  so  kind.  You  must  excuse 
my  little  girl  if  she  didn't  seem  to  thank  you 
properly.  It 's  only  that  she  is  not  used  to  being 
made  so  much  of  ;  it's  not  that  she's  ungrateful 
or  lacking  in  her  duty." 

He  spoke  with  a  simple  earnestness  which  was 
not  devoid  of  dignity. 

"  I  like  old  Drea.  He  's  such  a  good  old  boy. 
There 's  not  a  more  honest  old  fellow  in  Leghorn," 
Gasparo  said  cordially,  a  few  moments  later,  as 
the  two  young  men  came  out  into  the  cold  night 
air  together.  "  The  devil  take  that  wind  if  it  is 
not  beginning  to  blow  a  libcccio  !  That  child 
will  be  blown  over  the  steps  if  you  don't  look 


THE    YOUNG  MASTER. 


59 


after  her.     Been  out  in  Drea's  boat  much  this 
winter,  Dino  ? " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Too  rough,  eh  ?  Yet  I  remember  you  used 
to  beat  me  at  managing  a  boat  when  we  were 
little  chaps  together.  Che  diavolo  !  how  time 
flies  !  It  seems  only  yesterday  —  until  one  looks 
at  that  girl  in  there.  There  's  a  beauty  if  you 
like.  What  eyes  !  and  did  you  ever  notice  how 
she  smiles  with  'em  ?  " 

Palmira  felt  her  brother's  fingers  closing  with 
a  sudden  thrill  upon  her  own.  He  did  not 
answer  for  nearly  a  minute.  "  If  you  are  speak- 
ing of  Italia,  sir  —  " 

Gasparo  burst  into  a  wild  laugh.  "  Oh,  no ! 
How  could  you  think  it  ?  I  was  speaking  of 
the  other  woman,  of  course.  Maria  —  Lucia  — 
what 's  her  name  ?  Your  little  dressmaking 
friend  with  the  beads.  How  she  did  look  at  me, 
per  Bacco !  you  would  have  thought  I  was  in 
league  with  the  very  devil  himself." 

"  The  women  are  not  accustomed  to  your  man- 
ner, sir.  You  must  be  indulgent  enough  to  make 
allowances  for  our  ignorance.  No  doubt,  when 
they  have  found  out  how  much  your  kind  interest 
is  worth  —  " 

"  Look  here,  my  good  fellow.  You  're  my 
foster-brother  and  all  that.  And  my  mother  is 
very  fond  of  yours,  —  by  the  way,  you  must  tell 


60  VESTIGIA. 

Sora  Catarina  to  come  up  and  see  me  at  the  Villa. 
But  as  for  noticing  anything  which  you  may 
choose  to  say,  —  why,  my  good  Dino,  you  are 
really  asking  too  much  of  me  !  There  !  Don't 
lose  your  temper — and  don't  swear.  It's  not 
the  child's  fault  ;  is  it,  my  dear  ?  And  so  good- 
night to  you,  little  one ;  and  here  's  something 
to  buy  yourself  sugar-plums  with.  Good-night ! 
An  revoir,  friend  Dino  !  " 

He  turned  abruptly  on  his  heel  and  strode  off 
down  the  street  without  waiting  for  an  answer, 
the  wild  stormy  moonlight  shining  full  upon  his 
handsome  face.  He  walked  on,  humming  an  air 
from  the  new  opera,  and  then,  "  Poor  devil !  "  he 
said  aloud,  and  smiled  with  an  easy  insolent 
amusement. 

Before  her  brother  could  speak,  Palmira  had 
flung  the  silver  coin  upon  the  pavement.  "  I 
don't  want  it ;  I  won't  have  it,"  she  said  passion- 
ately. "  I  would  not  keep  it,  not  —  not  if  Italia 
told  me  to  !  " 

She  clasped  both  her  small,  cold  hands  about 
one  of  Dino's.  "  Why  did  he  speak  like  that  ? 
and  why  did  he  laugh  at  you  ?  He  is  not  like 
the  fairy  Prince  at  all ;  he  is  like  some  wicked 
enchanter  who  has  come  to  spoil  everything. 
Oh,  I  liked  him  so  ;  and  now  I  wish  he  had 
never  come !  "  she  said.  "  Oh,  Dino,  I  wish  he 
had  never  come  !  " 


THE    YOUNG  MASTER.  £r 

And  at  the  door  of  their  house  she  still  clung 
to  her  brother.  "  Must  you  go  to  the  club  to- 
night ?  Can't  you  wait  for  some  other  night? 
Won't  you  come  upstairs  with  me  ?  Must  you 
go  ? "  she  asked  wistfully. 

Dino  looked  down  at  the  small,  earnest  face 
and  patted  her  cheek.  "  Good-night,  little  one. 
Run  along  upstairs.  You  ought  to  have  been  in 
bed  hours  ago.  Do  you  know  what  time  it  is, 
and  what  the  mother  will  say  to  you  ? " 

"  But,  Dino,  are  you  going  ? " 

He  glanced  out  at  the  dark  street.     "  Yes." 

"Dino,  I  want  to  whisper  to  you." 

He  laughed.  "You  little  torment,"  he  said, 
but  he  bent  his  head  obediently. 

"Dino,  does  Italia  know  about  your  going 
there,  —  about  the  club  ? " 

She  felt  him  give  a  sudden  start  at  the  ques- 
tion. "  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  asked  roughly- 

"  I  know  that  every  time  you  go  there  you 
come  back  looking  so  angry  —  oh,  so  angry  ! 
And  mother  cries  while  you  are  away.  I  Ve  seen 
her  when  she  thought  I  was  asleep.  And,  Dino," 
she  laid  her  little  cheek  against  his,  "  Italia  told 
me  to  take  care  of  you.  '  Take  good  care  of 
Dino,'  that  was  the  last  thing  she  said  to  me  to- 
night. And  I  said  I  would.  I  wonder  if  I  ought 
to  let  you  go  there  ? "  the  child  said  gravely. 

"  Did  Italia  say  that  ? "    He  drew  a  long  breath, 


62  VESTIGIA. 

and  then  stooped  down  and  kissed  her.  "  There, 
run  along  now.  There's  a  good  child." 

He  stood  waiting  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  till 
the  sound  of  the  small  footsteps  had  stopped  at 
an  upper  landing,  and  a  shrill,  childish  voice  was 
heard  calling  out,  "  I  'm  here.  Take  care  of 
yourself,  my  Dino  !  " 

Then  he  went  out  again  into  the  street. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   CIRCOLO    BARSANTI. 

THE  wind,  which  blew  so  freshly  in  from  sea 
across  the  open  space  of  the  parade,  was  moan- 
ing like  a  wild  thing,  trapped  and  caged,  in  the 
narrow  streets  behind  the  Duomo,  towards 
which  Dino  was  now  taking  his  way,  with  a 
mind  full  of  doubt  and  rage  and  suspicion. 
Italia —  God  bless  her  !  —  at  least  her  last  words 
had  been  of  him.  But  to  think  of  her  now  was 
also  to  remember  the  young  Marchese's  look  at 
her,  the  poor  child  !  as  she  took  his  ring ;  his 
laugh  as  he  had  turned  away  by  the  quay.  The 
remembered  sound  of  that  laughter  made  Dino 
clench  his  teeth  and  break  out  into  some  wild, 
bitter  imprecation.  "  I  am  like  Palmira,"  he 
said  to  himself  scoffingly.  "  I  can't  even  hate 
him,  and  he  knows  it.  I  too  wish  he  had  never 
come  back,  because  —  because  I  liked  him  so !" 
As  he  walked  on,  his  mind  was  full  of  remem- 
brances of  their  old  days  together,  when  he  and 
Gasparo  had  been  playmates,  companions,  and 
always  with  that  difference  between  them. 


64  VESTIGIA. 

They  had  quarrelled  scores  of  times  before  now, 
and  yet  the  old  charm  had  never  lost  its  power  : 
Dino  was  always  ready  to  be  brought  back  by  a 
look,  a  word,  the  first  word  of  apology  or  regret. 
Regret !  was  it  not  enough  for  him  to  feel  that 
his  dear,  old  comrade  counted  upon  him,  wanted 
him  still,  despite  all  his  newer  friends  ?  "  I  let 
him  whistle  me  back  at  his  good  pleasure,  like  a 
woman,  like  a  dog,"  he  told  himself  moodily,  and 
even  as  he  said  it  he  felt  in  his  heart  that  he 
would  let  himself  be  called  back  again.  Nor  was 
he  the  only  one  :  there  was  not  one  human  be- 
ing out  of  all  the  little  circle  which  made  up  his 
world  who  did  not  in  some  degree  conspire  to 
pet  and  spoil  the  young  Marchese.  "  I  'm  a 
hundred  times  cleverer  than  he  is,"  Dino  re- 
flected for  the  hundredth  time.  "Ay,  and 
better  read,  better  educated.  I  can  feel  and 
understand  a  thousand  things,  books,  ideas, 
emotions,  which  are  so  many  dead  letters  to 
him.  And  what  does  it  all  amount  to  ?  What 
good  is  it  ?  At  four-and-twenty  I'  m  dependent 
on  old  Drea's  good-nature  for  a  chance  of  earn- 
ing my  living  by  doing  a  common  sailor's  work, 
while  he —  Why,  if  he  were  to  change  places 
with  me  here  to-night,  by  to-morrow  he  would 
be  the  most  popular  man  in  Leghorn.  Fortune 
is  as  much  at  his  beck  and  call  as  any  of  the 
rest  of  us.  And  now  there  's  Italia  —  " 


THE   CIRCOLO  BARSANTI.  65 

He  thought  how  she  too  would  recognize  the 
prestige  of  the  young  soldier's  successes,  and  in 
what  a  different  spirit  !  How  often  in  their  long 
talks  together  had  they  arrived  at  the  same  con- 
clusions, but  by  what  divergent  ways !  What 
was  careless  ease  in  her,  in  Dino  was  pure  reck- 
lessness :  on  the  one  side  was  the  freedom  of 
unconcern,  and  opposed  to  it  the  freedom  of 
desperation.  And  how  could  it  well  be  other- 
wise ?  He  was  sensitive,  imaginative,  unlucky. 
And  he  took  life  hard.  He  could  never  make 
her  understand  his  view  of  it ;  it  was  not  in 
her  temperament  to  understand  it.  "  While  the 
sun  is  shining  it  can't  be  dark  ;  and  she  lives  in 
the  sunshine  —  my  darling  !  "  he  thought,  with  a 
sudden  revulsion,  a  rush  of  tender  feeling.  And 
she  had  bid  the  child  "  take  care  of  Dino."  He 
smiled  to  himself  as  he  crossed  over,  out  of  the 
moonlight,  into  the  great  shadow  of  the  cathedral 
wall. 

The  cafe  to  which  he  was  going,  and  where 
his  club  met,  stood  at  the  corner  of  two  of  the 
narrowest  streets,  a  small,  low  room,  lighted 
from  the  ceiling  by  a  row  of  gas  jets  in  the  form 
of  a  cross.  On  three  sides,  against  the  wall, 
were  large  mirrors  in  tarnished  frames  ;  a  nar- 
row divan  covered  with  faded  red  velvet  ran  all 
around  the  room,  and  in  front  of  this  was  ranged 
a  series  of  small  marble-topped  tables  ;  three  or 
5 


66  VESTIGIA. 

four  men  were  seated  there,  drinking  coffee  and 
playing  a  game  of  dominos. 

There  was  nothing  at  first  sight  to  distinguish 
the  place  from  any  other  establishment  of  the 
same  rank  and  kind.  It  was  a  shabby  second- 
rate  cafe,  of  the  stereotyped  pattern ;  and  even 
the  police  did  not  take  much  interest  in  it,  al- 
though it  was  true  that  the  landlord  professed 
republican  —  or  at  least  liberal  —  political  senti- 
ments. But  in  a  seaport  town  that  was  to  be 
expected ;  and  if  Jack  ashore  preferred  drinking 
his  glass  of  vermouth  with  the  conviction  that 
all  men  are  free  and  equal,  —  so  long  as  they  can 
pay  for  what  they  are  consuming,  —  why,  it  was 
not  to  be  wondered  at  if  the  owner  of  a  small 
public-house  could  be  found  to  agree  with  him. 
The  "  Cross  of  Savoy  "  was  shrewdly  suspected 
to  be  the  headquarters  of  one  of  the  branch  So- 
cieties belonging  to  the  great  net-work  of  the 
Circoli  Barsanti.  But  then,  again,  these  said 
Circoli,  founded  early  in  the  '7o's,  to  commemo- 
rate the  name  of  a  certain  Sergeant  Barsanti, 
accused,  whether  falsely  or  not,  of  having  caused 
the  death  of  his  commanding  officer  during  a 
trifling  mutiny  in  the  barracks  at  Padua,  and 
himself  accordingly  tried  and  sentenced  and 
shot,  —  these  very  Circoli,  were  they  not  existing 
under  Government  permission,  if  not  patronage  ? 
And  if  Government  chose  to  ignore  the  fact  that 


THE   CIRCOLO  BARSANT1.  fy 

some  freak  of  popular  opinion  had  made  of  the 
murdered  sergeant  a  popular  hero  and  martyr, 
with  a  name  that  was  useful  to  conjure  by, — 
in  a  word,  if  the  authorities  saw  fit  to  connive 
at  the  existence  of  these  breathing-holes,  these 
safety-valves,  so  to  speak,  of  the  public  dis- 
content, how  in  the  name  of  common-sense 
were  the  Leghorn  police  to  be  justified  in  inter- 
fering ?  And  what,  in  direct  consequence,  could 
be  more  assured  than  the  peace  of  mind  and 
general  prosperity  and  safety  of  Signer  Prospero 
Neri,  —  respectable  householder  and  landlord,  — 
actually  seated  at  one  of  his  own  tables,  drinking 
some  of  his  own- coffee  with  an  air  of  confidence 
in,  and  enjoyment  of,  the  beverage  which  was 
more  than  equivalent  to  a  testimonial  ? 

Master  Prospero's  peace  of  mind  was  naturally 
a  matter  of  some  importance  in  his  own  estima- 
tion ;  and  yet — such  a  difference  can  be  obtained 
in  the  final  result  by  so  small  a  change  of  the 
point  of  sight  —  within  a  few  yards  of  his  com- 
placent head,  in  an  inner  room  divided  from  the 
cafe  proper  by  a  swinging  door,  painted  over 
with  cupids  and  arabesques,  a  discussion  was 
going  on  at  that  very  moment  which  would  have 
filled  that  worthy  host  with  horror  and  dismay. 

Three  men  were  seated  in  that  inner  sanctum 
about  a  small  round  table  ;  above  their  heads  a 
gas  jet,  turned  up  too  high,  flared  unnoticed  in 


68  VESTIGIA. 

the  draught ;  there  were  glasses  on  the  table 
before  them,  and  a  dingy  carafe  of  water,  and  a 
pack  of  cards.  But  they  had  not  been  playing. 
Their  attitude  seemed  chiefly  one  of  expectation. 

After  a  longer  silence  than  had  hitherto  fallen 
upon  them,  —  a  silence  during  which  the  wind 
was  distinctly  audible,  rattling  at  the  window- 
shutters,  and  they  could  hear  an  occasional  laugh 
and  the  click  of  glasses  in  the  outer  room,  — 
"  Who  was  it  made  the  appointment  with  him  ? 
Was  it  you,  Pietro  Valdez  ? "  asked  the  oldest 
man  present.  He  spoke  slowly,  and  with  a 
strong  German  accent. 

The  man  addressed  looked  up  from  his  occu- 
pation of  rubbing  his  moistened  finger  around 
the  brim  of  his  glass  and  thereby  producing  a 
series  of  minor  musical  notes.  "  Ay,"  he  said ; 
"  I  told  him." 

And  then,  after  a  pause,  "  I'll  answer  for  the 
lad,"  he  added  slowly. 

"  Do  you  mean  for  his  coming  to-night,  —  or 
altogether  ?  "  the  German  asked  abruptly,  fixing 
a  pair  of  piercing  light-blue  eyes  upon  his  inter- 
locutor. 

Valdez  picked  up  his  empty  glass  ;  looked  into 
it ;  then  put  it  down  with  a  sudden  movement 
upon  the  table. 

"  I  mean  —  altogether,"  he  said  gravely. 

The  other  two  men  exchanged  glances. 


THE   CIRCOLO  BARSANTI.  69 

"  Per  Bacco  !  I  would  n't  do  it !  no,  not  for  my 
own  flesh  and  blood  brother,  —  not  I ! "  cried 
the  third  man  present,  bringing  the  open  palm 
of  his  hand  lightly  down  upon  the  table  before 
him.  It  was  noticeable  that  they  all  three  moved 
and  spoke  with  a  certain  caution  and  in  the  quiet- 
est tones  possible.  "  /  would  not  do  it.  I 
would  n't  answer  for  —  " 

The  German  checked  his  rising  voice  with  a 
look.  "  I  have  taken  note  of  what  you  are  pre- 
pared to  do,  friend  Valdez.  You  are  prepared  ?  " 
he  added  sharply,  with  another  searching  glance. 

Pietro  Valdez  lifted  his  melancholy  eyes  from 
the  table  before  him  and  stared  the  speaker 
straight  in  the  face.  Then  his  head  dropped 
again,  and  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  wearily  : 
"  I  am  prepared  —  yes.  But  I  look  like  joking, 
don't  I  ?  It  is  so  probable  that  I  should  select 
this  occasion  for  a  jest !  " 

"  I  ask  your  pardon,  Signer  Valdez.  I  will 
make  a  note  of  what  you  have  said." 

"  Ay,  notes,  notes.  But  /  see  nothing  done," 
broke  in  little  Pierantoni  irrepressibly.  "  It  is 
all  very  well  to  say  the  people  can  wait.  Santa 
Pazicnza  !  the  people  have  waited.  They  are 
getting  tired  of  waiting  now.  Once,  the  lower 
down  you  ground  them  the  better  they  submitted. 
We  know  all  that  —  at  Naples.  But  it 's  a  mis- 
take to  grind  a  man,  or  a  people,  down  too  far ; 


70  VESTIGIA. 

—  't  is  so  easy  to  grind  all  the  humanity  out  of 
them  and  leave  only  the  beast.  And  some  beasts 
have  teeth,  and  object  to  being  baited." 

He  got  up  and  sat  down  again,  holding  his 
hands  straight  out  before  him  and  shaking  his 
ten  hooked  fingers  with  a  gesture  as  if  he  were 
sowing  corn.  "  If  you  shoot  at  the  Czar  of  all 
the  Russias, —  well,  'tis  a  kind  of  logic.  You 
pit  one  autocrat  against  the  other  :  Death  against 
the  Imperial  Will :  and  the  best  man  wins.  And 
there  's  no  more  unanswerable  argument  than  a 
rifle-ball.  It  was  our  lords  and  masters  taught 
us  that  long  ago  —  at  the  Paris  barricades.  I 
say,  if  you  shoot  the  Czar  you  prove  nothing  new. 
But  to  fire  at  a  popular  Prince —  To  take  a 
man  at  the  apex  of  his  power,  in  the  midst  of  his 
people,  to  teach  him  that  there 's  no  popularity, 
no  moderation,  no  amount  of  good-nature,  or 
good  intentions,  or  good  luck  even,  that  can 
alter  the  eternal  justice  of  things —  That's  not 
stabbing  at  a  King  :  it 's  putting  your  knife  into 
the  Institution  ;  cutting  the  throat  of  royalty 
itself,  —  and  not  merely  royalty  as  a  political 
institution,  but  royalty  as  a  symbol  of  social  in- 
equality. Is  it  vengeance  ?  I  protest  that  it  is 
no  more  an  act  of  vengeance  than  the  sentence 
of  a  judge.  Have  we  not  tried  them,  these 
Kings  ?  Cristo  Santo !  have  we  not  tried  'em 
and  found  'em  wanting  ?  Is  it  a  murder  ?  do 


THE   CIRCOLO  BARSANTL  ji 

you  call  it  murder  when  a  man  shoots  down  a 
bandit — an  outlaw — with  a  price  upon  his 
head  ?  And  they  are  outlaws,"  he  added  with  a 
short  laugh.  "  Ay,  and  they  wear  their  crowns 
for  a  purpose.  'Tis  a  shining  target  at  the 
least  —  " 

"  Bene"  The  German  contemplated  him  for 
a  moment  with  an  air  of  faint  amusement ;  then 
rose  slowly  from  his  place  at  table  and  moved 
with  a  cat-like  step  towards  the  door.  He  stooped 
his  shaggy  head  and  looked  long  and  deliber- 
ately through  the  keyhole  at  the  various  occu- 
pants of  the  adjoining  room.  " Bene,  'Tis  all 
safe.  But  eloquence  like  our  Pierantoni's  is  apt 
to  attract  —  crowds,"  he  said,  looking  up  again 
with  a  sudden  peculiarly  simple  and  artless  smile. 

The  little  Neapolitan  leaned  half-way  across 
the  table,  his  black  eyes  flashing.  "  Per  Cristo  ! 
—  you  suspect  some  one  ?  some  —  traitor  ?  " 

"  Traitors  ?  't  is  a  word  you  are  fond  of  using, 
you  Italians.  I  look  at  things  differently.  Why 
should  we  expect  a  new  experience  in  life  from 
that  of  other  men  ?  A  man  lives  with  his  ene- 
mies ;  if  he  is  lucky,  he  may  meet  with  his 
friends."  He  looked  at  Valdez  as  he  spoke :  he 
was  always  looking  at  Valdez,  who  bore  his 
scrutiny  with  the  most  unaffected  unconcern. 
"As  for  suspecting,  I  suspect  —  every  one,"  he 
said.  "It  is  my  business  to  suspect.  And  for 


72  VESTIGIA. 

convenience'  sake  I  begin  with  the  suspicion  of 
our  worthy  landlord."  And,  with  a  quick  side- 
glance,  he  added  lightly,  "Valdez,  you  see,  our 
friend  Valdez  does  not  answer  for  him" 

"  Nay,"  said  Valdez  slowly,  "  I  say  nothing  for 
or  against  him.  He  is  one  of  those  men  in 
whom  necessity  is  the  mother  of  virtue.  He  '11 
walk  straight  enough  if  you  watch  him  carefully. 
He  won't  run  off  the  line  so  long  as  there  are  no 
corners." 

At  this  the  German  made  some  inarticulate 
sound  of  assent,  and  for  a  time  again  relapsed 
into  silence.  Finally,  as  some  neighboring  clock 
struck  the  hour  of  eleven,  he  looked  up  with 
another  grunt  "  This  place  closes  in  half  an 
hour.  The  young  man  is  not  coming,"  he  said. 

"  He  will  come,"  Valdez  repeated  calmly. 

" Per  Bacco  !  if  he  does  n't—  " 

But  even  as  Pierantoni  opened  his  lips  to 
speak,  the  gaily-painted  door  behind  him  opened 
quickly  and  softly,  and  was  as  softly  shut. 

"  Am  I  late  ? "  asked  Dino,  looking  all  about 
him. 

There  was  more  curiosity  than  excitement  in 
the  expression  of  his  face. 

"  I  thought  you  told  me  it  was  to  be  an  espe- 
cially important  sort  of  meeting  ?  Why,  where 
are  the  others  ?  There 's  no  one  here  !  "  he  said, 
in  a  hurried  aside  to  Valdez  as  he  drew  up  a 


THE   CIRCOLO  BARSANTL  73 

chair  and  took  his  place  at  the  table  beside  his 
friend.  Pierantoni's  face  he  knew  by  sight  al- 
ready, but  he  gazed  at  the  stranger  present  with 
considerable  interest  and  wonder,  noting  each 
personal  peculiarity  of  his  appearance,  his  care- 
less dress,  his  broad  shoulders,  and  large  very 
white  hands  ;  he  wore  a  large  and  valuable  ring 
upon  one  of  them,  and  there  was  an  ugly  scar, 
the  red  mark  of  an  old  wound,  across  his  wrist. 
Dino  could  not  keep  his  eyes  from  it.  He  had 
always  longed  to  see  this  man.  The  German 
leaned  back  quietly  in  his  chair. 

"  Your  name  is  Bernardino  de'  Rossi.  You 
are  Livornese  by  birth,  —  twenty-four  years  old. 
You  have  belonged  to  this  Society  for  nearly 
three  years,  having  been  introduced  and  vouched 
for  by  Signer  Pietro  Valdez,  here  present.  And 
for  the  last  four  years  —  for  the  last  five  years, 
if  I  mistake  not,"  he  hesitated  for  an  instant  and 
appeared  to  consult  his  memory,  "  you  have  held 
a  position  in  the  Telegraph  Office  of  Leghorn. 
I  believe  I  am  right  in  all  these  particulars  ? " 

"Perfectly  right.  It  is  nearly  five  years.  I 
was  nineteen  when  I  went  into  the  office,"  said 
Dino  promptly,  though  not  without  a  little  in- 
ward astonishment.  What  had  this  meeting  then 
to  do  with  him  ?  and  why  had  Valdez  not  spoken 
more  clearly  ?  But  he  was  soon  to  know. 

"  And  three  weeks  ago  a  slight  disturbance  — 


74  VESTIGIA. 

a  regretable  disturbance —  connected  with  a  small 
demonstration  in  favor  of  General  Garibaldi,  took 
place.  The  procession  was  dispersed  by  the 
police,  but  not  before  you  had  been  recognized 
as  being  implicated  in  it.  In  consequence  of 
this,  and  partly,  also,  because  of  your  refusing 
to  give  up  the  name  of  one  of  your  fellow-clerks 
who  was  known  to  have  been  there  with  you,  you 
were  unfortunately  dismissed  from  your  post  this 
morning.  I  say  unfortunately  because,  for  some 
few  weeks  at  all  events,  you  will  now  be  placed 
under  police  surveillance.  You  should  have 
been  more  careful,  sir ! "  the  speaker  concluded 
brusquely. 

This  man  had  the  power  of  assuming  at  will 
an  indescribable  air  of  ease  and  authority.  All 
traces  of  his  former  manner  of  lounging  good- 
nature had  vanished.  His  voice  even  was 
changed.  He  spoke  now  with  the  clearness 
and  rapidity  of  a  man  accustomed  to  undis- 
puted command.  "You  should  have  been  more 
careful,  sir.  You  have  lessened  your  chance  of 
being  useful." 

Dino  felt  himself  going  red  and  white  by  turns. 

"  There  was  no  other  choice,  your  —  your  — 
sir !  I  mean,"  he  said  after  a  moment.  "  The 
man  you  speak  of  —  he's  no  friend  of  mine  — 
depended  upon  my  holding  my  tongue.  I  was 
bound  as  a  gentleman  not  to  betray  him." 


THE   CIRCOLO  BARSANTI.  75 

"The  Society  has  nothing  to  do  with  your 
being,  or  not  being,  a  gentleman,  sir  ! "  the  great 
man  interrupted  sharply,  and  looking  at  Dino 
with  not  unkindly  eyes.  "  You  will  attend  to 
what  I  say,  if  you  please,  as  at  present  you  are 
merely  wasting  my  time  in  this  matter."  He 
glanced  across  at  Valdez,  and  then  tapped  the 
table  before  him  thoughtfully  with  his  finger- 
tips :  it  was  the  hand  on  which  he  wore  his 
great  signet  ring,  and  the  brilliants  which  sur- 
rounded it  glittered  oddly  enough  among  the 
heaps  of  tobacco  ash  and  burnt-out  matches 
which  littered  the  mean  little  table. 

"  H'm,"  he  said  thoughtfully ;  and  turning 
his  eyes  abruptly  upon  De  Rossi,  "  You  know 
who  I  am?"  he  demanded.  "Ah  —  I  see  you 
do.  Well,  that  simplifies  matters.  You  will 
understand  how  it  is  that  I  am  giving  you  these 
orders.  I  suppose  there  is  no  need  of  my  re- 
minding you  of  the  new  —  the  special  engage- 
ments you  entered  into  on  the  day  following  the 
little  Entente  we  have  spoken  of —  ?" 

"  Ah  ! "  said  Dino,  suddenly  straightening  him- 
self upon  his  chair. 

Valdez  lifted  his  eyes  quickly,  then  let  them 
drop  again.  The  lad  was  beginning  to  under- 
stand. 

"  You  and  one  other  man  placed  yourselves  on 
that  occasion  on  the  Society's  list  of  volunteers. 


76  VESTIGIA. 

I  don't  know  how  much  you  meant  by  doing  so, 
but  that's  not  my  affair.  You  would  not  have 
been  accepted  if  you  had  not  been  considered  a 
fit  person  —  and  properly  vouched  for.  It  seemed 
hardly  probable  at  the  time  that  any  very  especial 
service  would  be  demanded  from  you,  but  of  course 
you  took  your  chance  of  that.  I  have  known 
men  wait  for  years  and  years  without  getting 
such  a  chance ;  but  you  are  to  be  congratulated, 
young  man,  you  are  more  fortunate  than  they." 

There  was  a  dingy  carafe  standing  in  its  little 
saucer  on  the  centre  of  the  table.  Dino  reached 
over  and  poured  himself  out  a  glass  of  water  ; 
he  swallowed  it  down  at  a  gulp.  Then  he 
leaned  deliberately  back  in  his  chair.  He  had 
turned  very  pale,  and  his  eyes  were  shining. 

"  What  is  there  to  be  done,  sir  ?  I  'm  ready," 
he  said  quietly. 

The  German  looked  at  him  grimly  enough  for 
a  moment,  and  then  for  the  first  time  his  face 
relaxed  into  its  wonderful  child-like  smile. 

" Schon"  he  said  approvingly.  Then,  with 
a  sudden  reassumption  of  his  former  manner, 
"  Have  you  any  present  means  of  support  ? 
What  are  you  going  to  do  with  yourself  at 
once  ? "  he  demanded. 

Dino  told  him. 

"  Very  well  then.  For  the  next  fortnight  you 
will  go  about  your  work  in  the  boats,  and  you 


THE   CIRCOLO   BARSANTI. 


77 


will  be  careful  to  give  cause  of  suspicion  to  no 
one.  You  observe  that  I  say  to  no  one.  If  you 
have  a  —  a  made/ten  whom  you  fancy  yourself  in 
love  with,  you  will  remember  that  the  Society 
does  not  admit  of  rivals.  At  the  end  of  the 
fortnight  you  will  be  sent  to  Rome,  means  being 
provided  for  your  journey.  And  in  the  mean- 
time you  will  not  show  yourself  again  at  this 
club.  Whatever  orders  you  may  need  will  reach 
you  through  Signer  Valdez." 

There  was  a  moment's  pause.  "  And  —  and 
what  am  I  to  do  in  Rome  when  I  get  there  ? " 
Dino  asked  presently.  His  lips  had  turned  dry 
again  :  he  found  a  certain  difficulty  in  speaking. 

"You  will  leave  Leghorn  on  the  nth  or  I2th 
of  next  month.  On  the  I3th  of  April  His  Maj- 
esty, King  Humbert,  will  hold  a  grand  review 
of  his  troops  in  the  new  quarter  of  the  Macao, 
near  the  railway  station.  The  Queen  will  be 
present  at  the  ceremony  with  the  court  and  the 
young  Prince.  The  King  will  appear  riding  at 
the  head  of  his  staff.  You  will  take  up  your 
place  in  the  crowd  at  the  corner  nearest  the 
Royal  carriages.  His  Majesty  will  pass  you 
twice  —  coming  and  going ;  the  second  time  he 
passes  —  " 

They  had  all  drawn  nearer  the  small  table  as 
he  went  on  speaking  in  lower  and  lower  tones  ; 
and  now  the  four  faces  were  very  close  together. 


78  VESTIGIA  fc 

"  And  then  ?  "  Dino  tried  to  say,  but  his  lips 
only  moved.  He  had  no  voice  in  which  to 
frame  the  words. 

"  Signer  Valdez  is  nearest  to  you.  Tell  him, 
Valdez,"  the  German  said  peremptorily,  and 
threw  himself  back  in  his  chair. 

And  then  Dino  felt  Valdez's  warm  breath  in 
his  ear.  He  heard  certain  words  which,  for  a 
moment,  seemed  to  convey  no  meaning.  He 
looked  straight  across  the  room  at  the  foolish 
painted  door  through  which  he  had  entered. 
He  felt  thirsty  again  —  that  intolerable  thirst! 
and  the  gas  flickered  and  made  a  curious  sound 
—  like  a  whistle  ;  and  —  and  — 

He  stood  up  suddenly  in  his  place,  and  stared 
at  the  three  impassive  faces  before  him.  They 
were  all  watching  him. 

"  My  God  ! "  he  said  in  a  broken  whisper  ; 
"  great  God !  you  want  me  to  assassinate  the 
King!" 


CHAPTER   V. 

RETROSPECTIVE. 

IN  less  than  half  an  hour  he  had  left  the  place. 
Valclez  accompanied  him  as  far  as  the  cafe 
door,  but  there,  with  scarcely  the  exchange  of  a 
word,  they  parted. 

"Are  you  not  going  home,  lad  ?  Go  home  and 
get  some  sleep,"  the  elder  man  said,  speaking  in 
a  tone  of  great  kindness  and  friendliness.  And 
yes,  Dino  admitted,  he  was  tired.  And  with 
that  they  separated :  but  he  would  not  go  home 
yet.  With  the  instinct  of  one  born  and  brought 
up  by  the  sea,  it  was  to  the  sea  he  turned, 
naturally  and  unconsciously,  as  another  man 
might  have  turned  to  an  open  window.  He 
walked  fast  until  he  reached  the  low  parapet 
which  runs  along  the  embankment  of  the  public 
walk  ;  but,  once  there,  his  pace  slackened.  The 
night  was  growing  quiet ;  the  wind  had  fal- 
len perceptibly  with  the  setting  of  the  moon. 
There  were  many  clouds  still,  but  broken  and 
moving ;  and  clear  dark  spaces  of  the  sky 
where  the  stars  sparkled  frostily.  Below,  the 


8o  VESTIGIA. 

water  was  still  restlessly  leaping  and  falling 
beneath  the  low  sea-wall,  a  dark  unquiet  surface 
crossed  with  long  pale  streaks  of  foam.  He 
walked  up  and  down,  slowly,  by  the  edge  of  a 
clump  of  ilex  trees,  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  his 
head  a  little  bent,  in  the  attitude  of  a  man  who 
is  thinking  intently.  Now  and  then,  at  the 
louder  splash  of  some  wave  which  broke  higher 
than  its  fellows,  he  lifted  up  his  face  automati- 
cally and  looked  about  him  with  a  blank,  con- 
fused stare.  In  truth  he  was  feeling  little  more 
than  an  overwhelming  sense  of  confusion ;  noth- 
ing seemed  real,  within  or  without ;  he  was  only 
conscio'us  that  all  was  changed  around  him,  and 
he  could  not  realize  the  blow. 

Dino's  strongest  personal  impressions,  all  his 
most  treasured  boyish  remembrances,  were  in 
some  way  connected  with  his  father,  who  had 
died  young,  and  when  the  boy  was  not  more 
than  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age.  Any  one 
else  remembering  Olinto  de'  Rossi,  — had  there 
indeed  been  any  one  left  in  the  very  least  likely 
'to  speak  of  him,  —  any  other  person  would,  in 
all  probability,  have  summed  him  up  briefly  as 
a  handsome,  fickle,  enthusiastic  young  man,  who 
—  having  begun  life  with  a  tolerable  fortune, 
a  persuasive  tongue,  a  singularly  equable  and 
lovable  temper,  and  an  absolute  incapacity  for 
denying  himself  the  smallest  satisfaction  —  had 


RETROSPECTIVE.  8 1 

ended  by  dying  miserably  of  consumption  at 
thirty-five ;  having  in  the  interval  married, 
spent  all  his  money,  and  earned  for  himself 
some  measure  of  local  notoriety  as  a  sort  of 
popular  demagogue,  a  speaker  and  leader  at 
democratic  meetings. 

Chance  having  thrown  him,  while  very  young, 
among  men  of  determined  political  sympathies, 
he  had  insensibly  acquired  so  many  of  their 
opinions,  which  he  afterwards  retailed  and  am- 
plified with  so  much  natural  ingenuity  and  elo- 
quence, as  to  have  earned  no  slight  fame  for 
himself  as  a  radical  patriot  of  extreme  views. 
In  point  of  fact  he  had  taken  to  speech-making 
in  the  first  place,  almost  by  accident,  and  as  he 
would  have  taken  to  drink,  or  to  gambling,  or  to 
any  other  form  of  excitement  which  appealed  to 
his  pleasure-giving,  pleasure-loving  nature.  And 
having  once  begun  to  taste  the  sweets  of  popu- 
larity, he  was  fascinated  by  them  ;  he  required 
no  especial  convictions,  the  applause  and  admira- 
tion he  received  were  quite  enough  to  determine 
his  vocation. 

But  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  a  reputa- 
tion obtained  in  this  manner  could  last  for  ever, 
or  indeed  for  very  long.  Before  many  years 
had  passed  there  had  come  a  sensible  diminu- 
tion in  the  number  and  the  fervor  of  De  Rossi's 
political  adherents.  The  elder  men  of  his  party 
6 


82  VESTIGIA. 

had  long  since  ceased  to  take  serious  notice  of 
his  impassioned  prophecies  ;  and  now  even  the 
editors  of  the  fiercest  socialistic  papers,  —  the 
compiler  of  //  Liicifero  of  Ancona,  and  the  gen- 
tleman who  was  responsible  for  the  appearance 
of  the  Leghorn  Thief,  —  even  they  had  begun  to 
fight  shy  of  their  old  and  brilliant  contributor. 
By  the  time  little  Dino  was  old  enough  to 
become  his  father's  companion,  following  him 
about  from  meeting  to  meeting  with  undoubting, 
enthusiastic  admiration  and  love,  it  is  probable 
that  the  faith  and  awe  the  elder  De  Rossi 
excited  in  his  little  listener  was  very  nearly  the 
sum  total  of  the  credence  he  received. 

On  the  whole,  this  defection  did  not  depress 
him  seriously.  Perhaps  he  never  thoroughly 
believed  in  it,  or  that  he  had  in  any  way  de- 
served it ;  one's  own  account  of  one's  motives, 
and  the  way  they  strike  a  friend,  often  bearing 
much  the  same  relation  to  each  other  as  a  pho- 
tograph does  to  a  portrait.  Each  represents 
the  same  individual ;  but  one  is  fact ;  the  other 
may  be  a  poem.  And  from  first  to  last  Dino 
saw  nothing  but  the  poem  ;  his  father  treating 
him  throughout  with  a  gentleness,  a  pride  in  his 
clever  boy,  and  an  amount  of  expansive  affec- 
tion which  cost  him  nothing,  and  which  bound 
the  lad  to  him  with  a  more  than  common  rever- 
ence and  love.  As  for  his  wife,  for  Dino's 


RETROSPECTIVE.  83 

mother,  she  was  by  nature  a  silent  woman,  who 
did  not  need  to  express  all  that  she  thought  ; 
and  this,  Olinto  sometimes  reflected,  was  per- 
haps fortunate :  the  view  other  people  take  of 
the  less  admirable  consequences  of  our  actions 
being  apt  to  strike  one  as  morbid.  After  all, 
her  husband  was  never  positively  unkind  to  her. 
He  had  never  purposely  deceived  her.  He  was 
simply  an  ordinary  man  ;  selfish,  good-humored, 
eager  for  any  new  amusement  ;  a  creature  of 
fine  moments  and  detestable  habits.  And,  after 
all,  when  his  wife  had  married  him  it  was  because 
she  wanted  to  do  so ;  because  nothing  else  could 
or  would  satisfy  her.  If  she  had  made  a  mis- 
take, well !  perhaps  he  too  had  had  his  illusions. 
And  it  is  the  law  of  life,  —  a  woman  loves  what 
she  can  evoke ;  but  what  she  marries  in  a  man  is 
not  his  best,  but  his  average,  self. 

Being  gifted  with  a  perfect,  an  unalterable, 
good-humor,  De  Rossi  accepted  his  wife's  al- 
tered opinion  of  him  as  he  accepted  the  reduced 
circumstances  of  his  material  life  :  both  were 
more  or  less  of  his  own  making,  and  between 
them  they  troubled  him  but  very  little.  His 
experience  of  life  was  a  succession  of  easy  con- 
tentments. He  enjoyed  his  own  emotions.  He 
liked  sinning  as  he  liked  repenting,  and  in  both 
phases  he  was  alike  sincere  —  and  unreliable. 
He  was  capable  of  the  deepest  enthusiasms,  — 


84  VESTIGIA. 

the  tenderest  emotions ;  but  he  was  unable  to 
master  his  own  shifting  moods  for  a  week.  His 
facile  nature  lapsed  away  from  the  highest 
points  it  reached  with  the  inevitableness  of 
water  which  seeks  its  level.  He  was  attractive  ; 
he  was  weak  ;  he  was  untrustworthy  ;  —  and 
yet  he  was  always  attractive.  "The  sort  of 
man,"  Valdez  said  of  him,  "  the  sort  of  man  who 
orders  his  dog  '  to  come  here,'  and  when  the 
beast  lies  down  in  a  corner,  —  'Ah,  the  clever 
dog !  he  knew  I  was  going  to  tell  him  to  do  that 
next ! '  says  my  amiable  gentleman." 

Before  her  marriage  —  she  was  five  years 
older  than  her  husband  —  Catarina  had  been  the 
confidential  maid  of  the  Marchesa  Balbi.  She 
had  never  wholly  lost  her  place  at  the  Villa. 
When  the  young  heir  was  born,  a  month  or  two 
after  the  birth  of  Dino,  she  was,  at  her  own 
earnest  entreaty,  made  the  bdlia  of  the  little 
Marchese.  Whenever  the  family  came  to  Leg- 
horn she  was  always  going  up  to  the  Villa ;  the 
Marchesa  was  perpetually  sending  for  her. 
There  was  no  great  mental  barrier  between  the 
Italian  lady  and  her  old  servant :  both  were  con- 
vent bred,  with  much  the  same  sort  of  education, 
—  and  what  hopes  and  fears  had  they  not 
shared  since  then  in  common  !  Catarina  would 
stand  for  hours  at  the  foot  of  her  old  mistress's 
sofa,  talking  to  her  in  undertones  of  things 


RETROSPECTIVE  85 

which  every  one  else  had  forgotten.  The  two 
women  were  bound  to  one  another  by  a  whole 
world  of  recollected  emotions,  —  the  night  young 
Gasparo  was  ill ;  his  first  steps;  the  day  he  had 
first  moved  alone  from  the  arms  of  his  nurse  to 
the  arms  of  his  mother,  —  to  each  of  them  these 
had  been  events  in  life. 

As  the  years  went  by  Olinto  objected  less  and 
less  to  his  wife's  frequent  absences.  "  She  is  a 
good  woman,  my  Dino,  but  hard  —  hard,"  he  would 
say  sometimes  to  his  boy  ;  and  by  the  very  pas- 
sion with  which  the  child  loved  him  he  could  see 
how  much  he  had  inherited  of  his  mother's  loyal 
and  serious  nature.  He  began  to  fear  vaguely  lest, 
his  boy  growing  older,  he  should  begin  to  learn 
to  judge  him,  —  and  he  had  grown  strangely  de- 
pendent on  that  one  unhesitating  faith. 

Things  were  then  in  this  condition,  when  one 
day,  Dino  being  at  the  time  some  twelve  years  old, 
he  was  taken  by  his  father  to  a  political  banquet, 
a  sort  of  subscription  supper  given  by  one  of  the 
clubs  to  which  Olinto  had  at  some  time  belonged. 

Dino  never  forgot  that  supper.  There  had 
been  some  objection  made  to  his  own  presence 
when  he  was  first  taken  in  ;  high  words  ex- 
changed between  some  of  the  men  present  and 
his  father  ;  sneering  references,  which  the  child 
only  half  understood,  to  other  debts,  and  former 
feasts  unpaid  for.  In  the  midst  of  the  confusion 


86  VESTIGIA. 

Dino  saw  his  father  rise  suddenly  from  his  place 
at  the  table ;  he  looked  about  him,  waving  his  hand 
to  command  silence  :  his  face  was  very  white. 

There  was  a  general  outcry  of  "  Sit  down  ! 
sit  down!"— "It's  too  early  yet!"  — "We  don't 
want  any  more  speeches  ;"  and  then  Dino  saw 
the  man  who  was  sitting  on  his  other  side  lean 
well  forward  and  put  his  hand  upon  his  father's 
shoulder.  "  Don't  try  and  talk  to  them  now. 
Wait  till  after  supper.  And  —  sit  down  De 
Rossi,  do.  There 's  a  good  fellow,"  he  said. 
And  then,  as  Olinto  yielded  mechanically  to  the 
pressure,  his  neighbor  drew  back,  looking  kindly 
enough  into  Dino's  terrified  face. 

"  Don't  be  frightened,  my  little  fellow.  They 
often  make  a  noise  at  these  suppers.  It  means 
—nothing,"  he  said,  with  a  half  contemptuous 
smile. 

Dino  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  in  silence. 
Then  the  boy's  face  flushed  scarlet,  and  his  eyes 
filled  with  tears. 

"It  can't  mean  anything,"  he  said  desperately. 
"  My  —  my  father  would  never  have  brought  me 
here  if  he  did  not  mean  to  pay  for  it."  But  he 
did  not  look  at  his  father,  who  was  arguing 
eagerly  across  the  table  with  his  opposite  neigh- 
bor, and  there  was  a  lump  in  his  throat  which 
seemed  to  choke  him  as  he  spoke. 

"  What,  are  you  Olinto's  little  chap  ?     Is  De 


RETROSPECTIVE.  %j 

Rossi  your  father  ?  And  what 's  your  name, 
then  ?  What  do  you  call  yourself,  my  little 
lad  ?  "  the  stranger  asked  good-naturedly. 

"  My  name  is  Bernardino.  But  they  call  me 
Dino  at  home,"  the  boy  said,  rather  huskily. 

"Well,  then,  Dino,  my  boy,  eat  your  supper, 
and  don't  trouble  your  head  about  what  doesn't 
concern  you.  Your  share  of  it  shall  be  paid  for, 
never  fear.  Now  then,  what 's  the  matter  now  ? 
Don't  sit  and  stare  at  your  father.  He  won't 
notice  you.  He 's  —  busy.  If  you  are  wise 
you  '11  tell  me  what  you  want,"  he  repeated,  with 
the  same  equivocal  smile. 

There  was  something  in  his  kind  and  melan- 
choly face  which  had  won  the  boy's  entire  con- 
fidence. "I  am  afraid,  sir —  I  don't  think  my 
father  has  got  enough  money  with  him,"  he  said 
hastily,  with  burning  cheeks  and  downcast  eyes. 
When  he  ventured  to  look  up  he  met  his  neigh- 
bor's glance  fixed  full  upon  him  with  a  certain 
friendly  amusement. 

"  So  you  are  Olinto  de'  Rossi's  son,"  he  said 
slowly  ;  and  Dino  wondered  to  hear  him  say  it, 
for  surely  he  knew  that  already.  "Well,  well. 
Per  Bacco  !  if  the  evolutionists  are  to  be  trwsted, 
why,  here's  a  curious  experiment  of  Dame 
Nature.  Well,  look  here,  my  boy,  did  you 
ever  see  me  before  ? " 

"  No,  sir." 


88  VESTIGIA. 

"Did  you  ever  hear  your  father  speak  of 
Pietro  Valdez  ? " 

"  No,  sir." 

"H'm.  Well!  that's  my  name.  And  I 
spend  my  time  teaching  people  how  to  play  the 
guitar,  and  tuning  pianos :  that 's  my  trade.  So 
now  you  know  who  I  am.  And  I  've  known 
your  father  a  good  many  years  now,  first  and 
last,  a  good  many  years.  Just  tell  him  to  turn 
around  for  a  moment.  I  say,  De  Rossi —  You 
look  out  for  yourself  ;  I  don't  want  to  crush  you, 
my  boy." 

He  leaned  well  forward,  and  spoke  in  a  low 
voice  to  Olinto.  Dino  was  crouching  back  in 
his  chair:  he  could  not  hear  what  passed  be- 
tween the  two  men  ;  but  half  an  hour  later,  and 
having  in  the  mean  time,  and  at  the  instigation 
of  his  new  friend,  partaken  heartily  of  his  sup- 
per, he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  father 
carelessly  fling  a  gold  piece  into  the  subscrip- 
tion plate,  where  it  lay  and  glittered  obtrusively 
among  the  pile  of  meaner  silver  coins. 

The  boy's  eyes  sparkled  with  triumph  at  the 
sight.  He  looked  up  with  a  frank  laugh  into 
the  face  of  his  new  companion.  "  Did  you  see 
that,  sir?"  he  asked  eagerly,  his  face  all  aglow. 

"Ay,"  Valdez  answered  almost  indifferentjy. 
He  leaned  back  on  his  chair  and  contemplated 
the  row  of  faces  before  him.  "  Presently  they 


RETROSPECTIVE.  89 

will  begin  their  fine  speechifying.  Look  here, 
my  boy,  I  see  signs  —  never  mind  .what  they  are, 
—  but  I  see  symptoms  of  a  coming  row.  It  will 
be  nothing  to  speak  of,  I  daresay,  but  all  the  same 
I  want  you  to  promise  me  this :  If  I  send  you 
home,  I  want  you  to  cut  away  at  once  without 
stopping  to  ask  questions,  do  you  see  ?  Now  prom- 
ise me  you  '11  do  that,  like  a  good  little  chap." 

"  I  '11  stay  with  my  father,  sir.  I  must  stay 
with  my  father.  And  if  you  please,  sir,  I  'd 
rather  stay,  really.  I  'm  not  afraid." 

"  Now,  who  ever  supposed  you  were  afraid, 
my  little  man?  But  that  is  not  the  question. 
Now,  look  here  —  ah! — " 

He  stopped  short.  A  sudden  silence  had 
fallen  upon  the  room.  A  man  near  him  roared 
out  "  Hush ! "  and  smote  the  table  before  him 
with  his  clenched  fist.  For  the  last  time  in  his 
life  Olinto  de'  Rossi  had  risen  to  make  a  speech. 

He  had  been  very  quiet  all  the  previous  part 
of  the  evening,  sitting  most  of  the  time  with 
his  head  leaning  upon  his  hand,  hardly  speaking 
to  any  one,  not  even  to  his  boy.  As  he  rose 
slowly  to  his  feet  a  wild  burst  of  ironical  ap- 
plause greeted  him  from  every  part  of  the  room ; 
only  Valdez  sat  silent  and  motionless,  staring 
down  at  his  plate  with  a  moody  troubled  face. 
De  Rossi  stood  leaning  a  little  forward  ;  his 
thin  cheeks,  which  had  grown  so  deadly  pale  of 


90  VESTIGIA. 

late,  were  burning  now  with  vivid  spots  of  red. 
"Friends,"  he  began,  "  Gentlemen  —  "  He  hesi- 
tated for  an  instant,  then  burst  into  wild  invec- 
tive against  Church  and  King  and  State.  "The 
State  —  the  State,  I  tell  you,  is  the  very  ne- 
gation of  liberty,"  he  cried,  "  and  no  matter 
who  command,  they  make  all  serve.  You  talk, 
some  of  you,  of  changing  the  political  regime. 
How  will  you  change  it  ?  For  what  good  ?  If 
a  man  among  you  has  a  thorn  in  his  foot,  will  it 
help  him  if  he  change  his  boots  ?  I  tell  you,  it 
is  the  thorn,  the  thorn  itself,  that  you  must  get 
out,  —  wrench  out,  cut  out,  if  need  be.  We,  the 
people,  how  often  have  we  asked  our  rulers  for 
bread  and  they  have  given  us  a  stone  ?  Yet  this 
is  scarcely  prudent,  friends,  for  a  stone  is  a 
fair  missile.  What !  will  they  live  on  in  their 
princely  palaces  and  offer  to  us,  to  the  people, 
the  bare  right  and  privilege  of  labor?  Labor!  I 
tell  you  that  God  Himself  has  set  His  curse 
upon  labor.  I  —  tell  —  you  —  " 

His  voice  had  failed  him  suddenly.  He  put 
his  hand  up  to  his  head,  staring  wildly  about  him. 

"  Go  on,  go  on  !  That 's  the  right  sort  of  stuff. 
Down  with  everything!  A  general  mess  and 
scrimmage,  and  myself  dancing  on  the  top  of  it ; 
that 's  your  real  radical  programme.  That 's 
what  you  call  reform  !  "  a  man  in  the  crowd  at 
the  foot  of  the  table  cried  out  derisively.  There 


RETROSPECTIVE.  gi 

was  a  general  laugh  ;  some  indication  of  a  wish 
to  hustle  him  into  silence  ;  some  shouts  of 
"  Viva  De  Rossi ! "  The  men  had  all  been 
drinking  freely,  and  were  ripe  for  any  mischief. 

"  I  say,  De  Rossi,  get  up  on  your  chair,  man. 
We  can't  hear  you,"  some  one  called  out  again  ; 
the  suggestion  was  received  with  another  hoarse 
roar  of  approval.  Two  or  three  men  moved 
towards  the  orator  as  if  with  the  intention  of 
forcing  him  to  adopt  this  new  position. 

"  For  God's  sake,  can't  you  let  the  man  alone  ? 
Don't  you  see  that  he  is  ill  ? "  cried  Valdez,  sud- 
denly starting  forward. 

Some  one,  more  humane  than  his  fellows,  had 
poured  De  Rossi  out  a  glass  of  wine.  He  lifted 
it  to  his  lips  now,  facing  them  all,  with  flushed 
face  and  wild  glittering  eyes,  "  I  drink  to  your 
health,  gentlemen  ! " 

He  stood  so  for  a  second  amidst  frantic  shouts 
of  applause,  with  one  hand  outstretched.  To 
Dino's  eyes  he  looked  like  a  demi-god  mastering 
a  whirlwind.  And  then  all  of  a  sudden  the  brim- 
ming glass  slipped  from  his  nerveless  hand,  and 
was  clashed  into  a  thousand  pieces.  He  watched 
it  fall  with  a  half-bewildered  laugh  ;  he  staggered, 
and  clutched  at  the  table  ;  a  sudden  red  mark  dis- 
colored his  smiling  mouth,  and  he  fell  heavily  for- 
ward, face  downwards,  without  a  word  or  a  groan. 

He  had  broken  a  blood-vessel  ;    he  was  still 


92 


VESTIGIA. 


insensible  as  they  carried  him  back  to  his  home 
through  the  dark  and  empty  streets ;  and  Dino 
walked  beside  the  litter  and  held  his  father's 
hand.  His  wife  met  them  at  the  door  with  Pal- 
mira, who  was  then  a  baby,  in  her  arms.  Her 
face  seemed  turned  to  stone  as  she  listened  to 
Valdez's  explanations.  Only,  as  they  laid  her 
husband  gently  down  upon  his  bed  and  uncov- 
ered his  face,  a  quick  spasm  contracted  her  rigid 
mouth,  and  she  stooped  and  kissed  the  dying 
man  upon  his  forehead. 

"  I  knew  it  would  come.  It  had  to  come," 
she  said  drearily.  And  after  that  she  scarcely 
spoke  again,  turning  away  from  all  consolation, 
and  seeming  to  find  relief  only  in  the  few  prac- 
tical cares  which  were  left  to  her. 

And  so,  like  some  impatient  wave  breaking 
too  far  from  shore,  whose  troubled  existence 
reaches  its  climax  in  but  one  instant  of  wasted 
force,  in  the  midst  of  a  sea  where  every  wave 
which  lifts  itself  must  fall,  so  Olinto  died,  and 
his  idle  raving  was  hushed,  and  his  place  knew 
him  no  more.  Of  mourners  he  had  few  or  none  ; 
it  was  only  to  his  boy  that  he  left  so  much  as  a 
memory.  That  was  almost  the  lad's  entire  heri- 
tage, that  and  the  friendship  of  Pietro  Valclez. 

As  little  Dino  grew  up  every  other  detail  of 
his  life  seemed  to  change  about  him,  as  things 
do  change  in  the  lives  of  people  too  poor  to  order 


RETROSPECTIVE. 


93 


their  surrounding  circumstances.  The  Marchesa 
came  less  and  less  often  to  the  Villa  Balbi ;  he 
had  lost  the  familiar  companionship  of  his  foster- 
brother  ;  of  his  first  childish  recollections  there 
was  only  old  Drea  left,  and  the  dear  face  of 
Italia,  to  illuminate  the  past.  But,  whatever 
else  was  altered,  he  had  never  lost  sight  of  Val- 
dez.  Indeed,  since  that  night  the  man  seemed 
to  have  taken  a  strange  fancy  to  the  boy ;  as  the 
years  went  on  those  two  were  always  more  and 
more  together  ;  an  arbitrary  friendship,  in  which 
one  was  ever  the  leader  and  teacher  and  guide. 

Even  to  Dino  there  was  always  a  certain  mys- 
tery about  Valdez,  but  it  was  the  mystery  of  pure 
blankness  ;  there  were  no  secrets  about  him, 
chiefly  because  he  seemed  to  own  no  history. 
He  never  willingly  spoke  of  himself,  or  alluded 
to  former  acquaintances  or  habits.  If  he  had 
any  one  belonging  to  him,  if  he  had  ever  been 
married,  no  one  precisely  knew.  He  never  spoke 
to  women,  or  appeared  interested  in  them.  He 
lived  alone,  where  he  had  lived  for  twenty  years 
in  two  small  rooms  in  one  of  the  narrowest  streets, 
of  Leghorn.  His  wants  were  few  and  unchan- 
ging, and  the  money  which  he  earned  amply 
sufficed  for  them.  In  his  working  hours  he 
followed  his  trade,  as  he  called  it,  with  the  sober 
exactitude  and  indifference  of  a  machine.  He 
was  a  Spaniard  by  birth,  and  a  Protestant  by 


94 


VESTIGIA. 


conviction  ;  and  he  believed  in  a  coming  univer- 
sal republic  as  he  believed  in  the  rising  of  the 
sun'.  After  a  dozen  years  of  companionship  that 
was  the  most  that  Dino  knew  of  him. 

As  he  paced  up  and  down  there  by  the  sea,  a 
hundred  confused  images  and  impressions  came 
floating  back  out  of  that  past  to  Dino.  His 
father's  face,  and  the  unforgotten  sound  of  his 
voice,  —  Sor  Checco,  Gasparo,  Drea,  dear  old 
Valdez,  and  those  men  at  the  cafe  to-night,  and 
the  scene  this  morning  at  the  office,  and  the 
scene  at  the  banquet,  that  other  night  long  ago, 
—  how  long  ago  it  seemed!  It  was  as  if  some 
storm-wave  breaking  over  his  life  and  soul  had 
stirred  the  very  depths  of  old  remembrance,  until 
he  could  scarcely  distinguish  the  actual  from  the 
past,  the  living  from  the  dead.  They  were  all 
mixed  up  with  the  darkness  and  the  wind  and  the 
sense  of  the  restless  seething  water  about  him. 

When  he  thought  of  Italia  he  stopped  short. 
He  could  not,  he  would  not,  think  of  Italia  —  not 
then.  He  could  bear  nothing  further  to-night, 
he  told  himself,  with  a  curious  sense  of  relief  and 
quiet.  The  measure  was  full  ;  he  could  realize 
nothing  more.  And,  indeed,  beyond  great  pain 
as  beyond  great  joy,  there  is  this  mysterious 
region  of  rest.  Great  passions  end  in  calm,  as 
the  two  poles  are  surrounded  by  similar  spaces 
of  silent,  ice-locked  sea. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    MORNING    AFTER. 

A  WOMAN'S  anxiety  is  always  awake,  always  ask- 
ing. She  entreats  to  know  in  direct  proportion 
to  her  dread  of  the  coming  knowledge.  How 
could  it  well  -be  otherwise,  while  her  life  is  one 
frail  tissue  of  delicate  probabilities,  in  the  midst 
of  which  she  waits,  like  a  spider  in  its  net,  for 
the  possible  gifts  of  fate  ?  And  the  web  may 
glisten  as  it  will  in  the  sunlight ;  it  makes  but  a 
poor  shield  against  a  blow. 

As  Catarina  busied  herself  about  her  ordinary 
household  work  that  next  morning  there  were 
faint  new  lines  of  care  about  her  close-shut 
mouth,  and  the  orbits  of  her  eyes  were  darkened 
as  if  with  sleeplessness  and  long  watching.  But, 
whatever  had  troubled  her,  she  made  no  direct 
mention  of  it  to  Dino,  —  setting  his  belated 
breakfast  before  him  carefully  but  in  silence.  It 
was  not  until  he  pushed  aside  his  plate  and  stood 
up,  reaching  mechanically  for  his  hat,  ready  to 
go  out,  that  she  admitted  to  herself  that  if  she 
wanted  an  explanation  she  must  ask  for  it ;  or 


96  VESTIGIA. 

seemed  to  notice  his  movements,  and  even  then 
it  was  only  to  say  indifferently, 

"Shall  you  be  home  to  dinner?  Or  do  you 
mean  to  stay  at  Drea's  ?  is  that  a  part  of  your  new 
arrangements  ? " 

"  Nay,  but,  mother,  I  am  sorry  to  have  given 
you  so  much  more  trouble.  The  fact  is  I  —  I 
overslept  myself  this  morning.  When  I  came  in 
last  night  I  was  more  tired  than  I  knew,"  said 
Dino  cheerfully. 

"Ay,  when  you  came  in!  When  you  did 
come  !  It  was  after  ten  o'clock  when  you  brought 
home  that  blessed  child,  so  worn  out  with  the 
wind  and  what  not  that  she  fell  asleep  on  my 
knee,  bless  her  little  heart !  before  I  had  fairly 
time  to  get  her  clothes  off.  And  after  that  I  sat 
up  for  three  hours  in  that  chair,  Dino.  It  was 
striking  one  by  the  Duomo  clock  before  I  went 
to  bed." 

She  turned  to  the  dresser  by  the  wall  and 
began  reaching  down  plate  after  plate,  and  look- 
ing at  each  one  as  she  wiped  it.  "  I  had  this  china 
before  you  were  born ;  the  Signora  Marchesa 
took  me  with  her  to  choose  it  —  and  it  was  my 
wedding  present  from  the  Villa,  sent  down -by 
one  of  the  footmen  the  day  after  I  was  married. 
I  was  sitting  by  that  window  when  it  was  brought 
in,  —  a  great  heavy  basket  that  the  man  could 
hardly  lift  upon  the  table,  —  only  your  father 


THE   MORNING  AFTER. 


97 


helped  him.  And  there  was  never  a  piece  of  it 
broken  until  you  knocked  down  the  saucer  the 
day  I  asked  you  to  help  me  with  the  cups.  But 
it 's  ungrateful  work  taking  care  o'  things  that 
just  end  by  being  used  by  others  who  don't  see 
any  difference.  There 's  a  plenty  o'  people  in  the 
world  have  got  brighter  eyes  for  looking  at  their 
sweethearts  with  than  for  looking  after  their 
husband's  house.  Palmira  tells  me  that  my  boy, 
my  young  master,  is  at  home  again,  Dino  ? " 

"  Ay,  Signer  Gasparo  's  here." 

"  And  went  to  see  Sor  Drea  on  his  very  first 
evening !  He  used  to  come  to  me.  Guarda 
qnesta !  But  young  men  will  be  young  men. 
And  't  is  true  that  Andrea  has  sense  enough  to 
look  after  that  girl  of  his.  She 's  givenj^0«  enough 
encouragement  —  " 

"  Mother !  "  said  Dino  in  his  severest  voice,  — 
a  voice  which  secretly  awed  her. 

He  faced  around  suddenly,  and  stood  looking 
at  her  as  she  moved  to  and  fro. 

"  Mother  !  it  is  not  generous,  it  is  not  kind,  to 
speak  of  Italia  in  that  fashion.  And  you  know 
it  hurts  me.  I  love  her,"  he  said,  his  voice 
changing.  "  Of  course  I  love  her.  I  don't  care 
who  knows  that  I  love  her.  But  encouragement ! 
I  don't  know  what  you  mean.  Encouragement 
from  Italia !  She  has  never  thought  of  such  a 
thing;  she  would  not  know  what  you  meant  —  " 

7 


98  VESTIGIA. 

"  Eh,  don't  tell  me,  lad.  I  Ve  been  a  girl  my- 
self. 'T  is  a  poor  dog  that  does  n't  know  when 
he  Vwagging  his  own  tail,"  cried  Catarina  bit- 
terly, stooping  to  wipe  the  dust  off  the  leg  of 
a  chair  with  the  corner  of  her  apron.  She  made 
a  busy  pretence  of  it  for  a  moment  or  two,  and 
then  her  hands  dropped  helplessly ;  she  stood  up 
and  looked  at  her  tall  son.  "  An'  so  you  love 
her  ;  —  you  love  that  little  girl  !  You  never  told 
me  of  it  before,  lad." 

"  But,  mother  dear,  you  never  asked  me.  I 
always  thought  you  knew  it.  It  was  plain  enough. 
And  how  was  I  to  guess  you  wanted  to  be  told  ? 
I  have  never  even  told  —  her,"  the  young  man 
said. 

"  And  she  was  to  come  first  ?     Nay,  't  is  but 
natural.     The  young  birds  build  new  nests.    Ah, 
but,  Dino  !  Dino  !  I  Ve  lost  you.     I  Ve  lost  my  . 
own  boy  —  " 

Her  voice  broke ;  she  turned  abruptly  away, 
and  hid  her  gray  head  upon  her  clasped  hands. 

"  But,  mother  dear,  —  dearest  mother  !  " 

He  stood  with  one  hand  on  her  shoulder,  look- 
ing down  at  her  bowed  head  with  a  curiously- 
blended  feeling  of  distress  over  her  grief  and 
impatience  at  its  unreasonableness  ;  "  Mother  ! 
After  all,  you  must  have  expected  it  sooner  or 
later  :  it  is  but  natural  — " 

"  Yes,  lad.     I  know.     'T  is  as  you  say  :  't  is 


THE  MORNING  AFTER. 


99 


natural,"  Catarina  said  meekly ;  and  then  she 
turned  her  face  away  again  with  a  sob  and  a  feel- 
ing of  utter  inevitable  loneliness.  How  could  the 
lad  understand  ?  He  was  young  and  she  was  grow- 
ing old  ;  and  to  him  what  was  natural  was  easy,  and 
to  her  it  was  hard.  That  was  all  the  difference. 

She  swallowed  something  in  her  throat,  a 
lump  which  seemed  to  choke  her,  and  stood  up. 
"  Poverino  !  I  won't  tease  you  any  more  :  don't 
be  vexed  with  me,  lad,"  she  said  soothingly,  look- 
ing into  his  perplexed  face  with  a  quivering  smile. 
She  put  up  her  hand  to  brush  off  an  imaginary 
speck  of  dust  from  his  coat.  "  Nay,  't  is  no 
wonder  if  people  love  you.  Go,  my  Dino,  go  to 
—  her,"  she  said  ;  and  as  Dino  bent  his  head 
and  kissed  her,  "  It 's  because  I  am  sending  him 
away,"  she  thought,  bitterly  enough. 

"  And  how  about  Monte  Nero,  mother  ?  The 
pilgrimage,  you  know.  Italia  was  asking  about 
it  last  night,"  he  said  cheerfully,  glad  to  see  her 
beginning  to  accept  things  more  placidly. 

"  Ay,  lad,  I  '11  think  of  it  ;  but  go  now,  go. 
I  will  not  —  I  cannot —  I  mean,  do  as  you  please. 
Make  all  your  plans,  and  I  will  help  you  carry 
them  out.  It 's  what  I  'm  good  for  now,  I  sup- 
pose. I  must  learn  not  to  stand  in  your  way  — 
and  hers." 

"  Mother ! " 

"I  —  Don't  mind  me,  my  Dino.      Don't  be 


100  VESTIGIA. 

angry  with  your  old  mother,  my  own  boy.  It 
was  only  a  —  a  surprise.  I  shall  be  all  right 
when  you  come  back  ;  for  you  will  come  back  to 
dinner,  my  Dino  ?  I  am  good  for  that  much  : 
I  can  take  care  of  you  still." 

She  followed  him  to  the  door,  and  then  went 
and  stood  by  the  open  window,  shading  her 
eyes  from  the  bright  March  sun,  to  watch  him 
as  he  passed  down  the  street.  Perhaps  he  would 
turn  his  head  and  look  up.  But  no.  From  that 
height  she  could  not  distinguish  his  face  ;  she 
felt  a  pang  of  idle  regret  at  the  thought ;  he 
seemed  to  get  so  soon  beyond  her  reach.  After 
a  while  she  went  into  her  son's  room,  and  opened 
all  his  drawers,  and  began  to  turn  over  his  pos- 
sessions. She  folded  an  old  coat  which  she 
found  on  the  back  of  a  chair  :  she  folded  it  care- 
fully. I  am  not  sure  that  she  did  not  kiss  it. 
Everything  belonging  to  him  with  which  she  had 
anything  to  do  was  kept  in  the  most  scrupulous 
order,  and  she  wanted  to  find  something  to  mend, 
some  work  which  she  could  do  for  him. 

There  was  a  small  faded  photograph,  a  portrait 
of  his  father,  hanging  over  the  young  man's  bed. 
She  went  and  looked  at  it  as  it  hung  against  the 
wall,  then  took  it  down  and  stood  with  it  in  her 
hand.  It  was  the  likeness  of  a  man  who  had 
been  in  every  way  a  disappointment  in  her  life  ; 
but  she  was  not  thinking  of  that  now.  The  faded 


THE   MORNING   AFTER.  IOi 

face  looked  at  her  out  of  the  past  with  its  easy 
confident  smile.  She  only  remembered  the  first 
year  or  two  after  her  marriage,  and  her  young 
husband's  kindness  to  her,  and  his  first  pride  and 
pleasure  in  their  boy.  "  If  he  had  not  gone,  there 
would  have  been  some  one  left  to  understand," 
she  thought.  Her  own  personal  life  seemed 
ended ;  she  gazed  with  the  strangest  pang  of 
regret  and  companionship  at  this  fading  likeness 
of  the  dead  face  she  had  loved  in  her  youth. 
What  if  afterwards  he  had  neglected  her  ?  At 
least  he  had  come  to  her  once  of  his  own  accord, 
for  her  own^sake, —  and  they  had  been  young 
together. 

She  felt  herself  quite  alone,  this  austere  and 
self-contained  woman,  —  alone  in  a  world  which 
could  never  change  for  the  better  now;  in  which 
each  new  morning  would  only  bring  new  depri- 
vations in  place  of  fresh  joys. 

Dino  had  dressed  himself  in  workman's  clothes 
that  morning.  Drea  did  not  expect  him  yet,  but 
it  was  just  possible  there  might  be  something 
which  wanted  doing  in  the  boat.  It  was  such  a 
bright  fresh  morning  after  the  storm  ;  a  morn- 
ing to  make  young  hearts  beat  lightly  and 
young  blood  run  fast  with  a  quick  sense  and  joy 
of  dear  life.  But  as  he  turned  mechanically 
down  the  busy  Via  Grande  he  saw  nothing  of 


102  VESTIGIA. 

all  this.  His  mother's  words,  the  way  in  which 
she  had  taken  it  for  granted  that  if  he  loved 
Italia,  Italia  must  love  him,  and  how  there  could 
be  but  one  possible  solution  to  their  lives,  all 
that  would  have  been  so  natural,  so  full  of  hope 
and  radiant  happiness  last  month,  last  week  — 
last  week  ?  only  yesterday,  only  one  day  ago ! 
And  now  ;  oh,  the  bitter  irony  of  fate !  it  was 
he  himself  who  had  forged  the  chain  which 
bound  him.  He  cursed  his  own  folly.  Why 
could  he  not  have  been  contented  ?  was  he  not 
deeply  enough  involved  before  then  ?  why  could 
he  not  have  let  that  last  crowning  piece  of  mad- 
ness alone  ? 

The  look  of  the  commonplace  crowd  around 
him,  the  presence  of  those  scores  of  hurrying, 
interested,  contented,  busy  men,  the  very  look 
of  the  shop  windows,  all  things  seemed  to  con- 
spire together  to  discredit  and  ridicule  the  de- 
voted side,  the  dramatic  side,  the  only  possible 
side,  of  his  situation.  In  a  world  like  this,  —  a 
world  of  common-sense  and  convenience  and 
keen  enjoyments,  a  world  of  sunlight  and  youth 
and  possibilities,  to  choose  deliberately,  at  four- 
and-twenty,  to  throw  away  all  one's  future,  all 
one's  love,  all  one's  life  in  doing — that.  Damn 
it !  Even  to  himself  he  would  never  men- 
tion that  accursed  plan,  he  would  never  think 
of  it. 


THE  MORNING   AFTER. 


103 


He  thrust  his  hands  deeper  into  the  great 
pockets  of  his  rough  jacket,  and  threw  up  his 
head  defiantly,  as  he  glanced  about  him.  And 
each  house  he  passed,  each  soldier,  each  police- 
man, each  lamp-post  even,  —  every  visible  sign 
of  peace  and  law  and  order, —  seemed  a  tangible 
ironical  comment  on  his  folly.  And  why,  in 
God's  name,  had  he  done  this  thing  ?  He 
remembered  so  well  that  evening, — it  was  after 
their  demonstration  had  been  dispersed  by  the 
police,  and  he  was  hot  with  a  sense  of  battle, 
and  wild  with  excitement,  with  bitter  baffled 
indignation.  It  had  seemed  so  easy  a  thing 
then  to  pledge  away  his  future.  He  had  done 
it  without  consulting  Valdez,  —  suddenly,  madly, 
on  the  desperate  impulse  of  the  moment.  He 
had  done  it  in  a  moment  of  mental  crisis  ; 
because  he  was  imaginative,  because  he  believed 
in  the  cause,  heart  and  soul,  because  he  had 
been  a  fool.  And  as  he  said  that  to  himself 
some  old  words  of  Pietro  Valdez  came  back  to 
him  with  sudden  force  out  of  some  old  forgotten 
talk  of  theirs,  —  "How  can  any  one  believe  in 
your  highest  emotions  ?  "  He  heard  the  familiar 
voice  asking  him,  "  How  can  you  expect  any  one 
to  believe  in  your  highest  emotions  if  you  ques- 
tion them  yourself  ? " 

The  softest  wind  blew  in  his  face  and  he  did 
not  feel  it,  the  sunlight  rested  on  him,  the  sky 


IO4 


VESTIGIA. 


was  blue  and  white  ;  but  he  had  ceased  to  look 
even  at  the  passers-by.  He  felt  like  a  man 
awakened  from  a  dream,  when  a  hand  touched 
him,  and  a  voice  spoke  in  his  ear,  and  he  looked 
up  and  recognized  the  Marchese  Gasparo. 

"  Hallo,  old  boy,  are  you  asleep  ?  are  you 
dreaming  ?  what  the  devil  is  the  matter  with 
you?" 

They  had  met  in  front  of  the  Giappone  the 
fashionable  restaurant  of  Leghorn,  where  Gas- 
paro had  been  breakfasting  with  a  couple  of  his 
friends.  The  two  other  men  strolled  off  a  few 
paces  and  waited,  smoking  their  long  thin  cigars, 
and  eying  Dino  with  a  languid  curiosity.  Gas- 
paro, too,  looked  at  his  altered  dress  with  some 
exclamation  of  surprise. 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  that  new  toggery  ? " 
he  demanded.  "  I  had  to  look  twice  to  make 
sure  it  was  you.  What  are  you  up  to  now,  old 
fellow,  eh  ?  Is  all  that  to  oblige  our  good 
Andrea  ?  "  And  then,  without  waiting  for  an 
answer :  "  See  here,  Dino,  you  're  the  very  man 
I  want.  But  stop  a  moment.  First  of  all,  are 
you  going  anywhere  in  particular  ? " 

"  I  am  going  to  Drea's,"  Dino  said. 

"To  wish  our  pretty  little  friend  good  morn- 
ing, eh,  my  Dino  ?  Jove,  how  pretty  that  girl 
looked  in  the  firelight  singing !  But  never  mind 
that.  You  can  do  something  for  me  before  you 


THE  MORNING  AFTER. 


105 


go  there,  can't  you  ?  Women  are  never  the 
worse  for  being  kept  waiting ;  in  fact,  it  does 
them  good,  and  their  hearts  get  softer  with  time, 
just  as  a  peach  softens  when  you  leave  it  for  a 
bit  to  ripen  on  the  tree.  I  say,  Dino,  be  a  good 
obliging  fellow  for  once.  You  are  not  really  in 
a  hurry  ? " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Benissimo  !  Then  you  can  go  and  do  an 
errand  for  me.  I  want  —  Look  here  ;  it 's  a 
letter  I  want  carried.  Rather  an  important  let- 
ter. It 's  —  it 's  a  love-letter,  in  fact,"  said  Gas- 
paro,  beginning  to  laugh,  "  and  I  want  it  taken 
to  the  woman  with  the  most  beautiful  eyes  in 
Leghorn  —  the  most  beautiful  ?  well,  at  least  I 
thought  so  until  yesterday.  She  is  —  her  name 
is  written  on  the  envelope.  But  it  is  not  to  be 
taken  to  her  house,  you  understand  ?  She  is  at 
Pancaldi's  this  morning,  at  the  Stabilimento. 
Go  straight  in  to  the  platform  where  the  baths 
are  in  summer  ;  you  '11  find  her  there,  looking  at 
the  waves."  He  laughed,  brushing  up  his  mous- 
tache. "  So  there  you  are ;  and  now  right 
about  face  —  march  !  Why,  man,  what  are  you 
staring  at?  There's  the  letter;  and  I  say, 
Dino,  mind  you  give  it  to  her  quietly  ;  just  slip 
it  into  her  hand,  you  know,  as  if  it  were  the 
answer  to  some  commission.  Faith  !  they  are 
pretty  eyes,  if  they  're  not  so  bright  as  Italia's." 


I06  VESTIGIA. 

Dino  turned  red  ;  he  drew  his  shoulder  away 
from  the  Marchese's  careless  touch.  "I  — 
You  must  excuse  me,  sir,"  he  said  roughly. 
"  Get  some  one  else  to  carry  your  letter.  I 
won't  go." 

"  Hullo ! "  The  Marchese  threw  back  his 
head.  "Then — oh,  go  to  the  devil !"  he  said, 
and  turned  lightly  on  his  heel. 

He  walked  off  for  a  pace  or  two  and  stopped, 
irresolute.  It  was  really  very  awkward  about 
that  letter.  He  wanted  it  taken  ;  he  could  not 
carry  it  himself,  and  to  find  another  trustworthy 
messenger  at  a  moment's  notice  —  He  turned 
back. 

"  I  say,  old  fellow,  don't  you  think  this  is 
treating  me  rather  badly  ?  It  is  not  every  one 
whom  I  'd  ask  to  do  this  thing  for  me,  but  you 

—  why,  we've  been  boys  together,  you  and  I." 
A  smile  lighted  up  his  handsome  face.     "  I  'd  do 
as  much  for  you  any  day,  old  Dino  ;  for  you  and 
your  sweetheart." 

Among  all  the  men  of  his  time,  the  young 
Marchese,  Gasparo  Balbi,  was  one  of  the  most 
personally  attractive.  He  was  the  most  popular 
man  in  his  regiment ;  he  fascinated  the  very 
orderly  who  cleaned  his  boots,  and  all  women 
and  all  children  loved  him.  Wherever  he  went 

—  in    a   ballroom,    or   in    the    streets  —  people 
turned  in  the  same  way  to  look  at  him.     His 


THE  MORNING  AFTER. 


lO/ 


mere  presence  was  an  irresistible  argument. 
When  he  talked,  it  is  possible  that  what  he  said 
was  neither  particularly  fresh  nor  particularly 
new,  but  that  did  not  matter ;  his  silence  and 
his  speech  were  alike  persuasive.  He  had  all 
the  qualities  of  a  ruler  and  leader  of  men,  — 
strong  animal  magnetism,  an  irresistible  au- 
dacity, an  implacable  will.  He  was  like  one  of 
the  English  Stuarts  in  his  wonderful  faculty  of 
awakening  passionate  loyalty  and  enthusiasm  in 
all  who  came  into  personal  relations  with  him  ; 
perhaps  he  was  still  more  like  them  in  his  power 
of  using  his  friends,  his  capacity  for  charming 
and  —  forgetting. 

He  stood  there  now  smiling  in  the  sunlight, 
like  a  young  prince  whose  good  pleasure  it  is  to 
explain  when  he  need  only  command. 

"  Come,  my  Dino ;  I  know  you  better  than 
you  know  yourself.  Surely  you  are  not  going  to 
refuse  to  do  this  for  me  ?  "  he  said. 

He  smiled  again  as  De  Rossi  went  off  with 
the  letter.  If  the  Contessa  did  not  like  it  — 
well  ?  He  thought  of  her  pleasantly,  holding,  as 
he  did,  the  easy  Italian  creed  that,  if  money  is 
the  root  of  all  evil,  women  are  at  least  its  flower. 
Still,  if  the  Contessa  did  not  like  it,  if  by  any 
chance  she  cared  to  make  herself  disagreeable  — 
she  could  get  into  a  rage  ;  that  was  certain  — 
well?  He  adjusted  his  sword  belt  a  little  and 


I08  VESTIGIA. 

strolled  back  to  his  friends,  whistling  softly  in 
an  undertone. 

"  Been  giving  that  young  fellow  a  rating,  eh," 
Gasparo  ?     He  looked  at  you  at  one  moment  as 
if  he  would  not  be  sorry  to  measure  the  length 
of  his  knife  against  your  ribs,"  remarked  one  of 
the  men  who  had  been  waiting  for  him. 

"I  was  only  giving  him  a  commission.  He  's 
my  foster-brother,  by  the  way,  that  chap,  and 
would  go  through  fire  and  water  to  serve  me. 
So  much  for  your  powers  of  discrimination,  my 
Nello,"  said  Gasparo  carelessly. 

He  linked  his  arm  in  that  of  his  friend,  and 
they  lounged  slowly  away  together  through  the 
crowded  street. 

Dino  meanwhile  was  walking  down  the  empty 
parade,  on  the  farther  side  of  that  straggling, 
weather-beaten  row  of  trees  which  stands  be- 
tween the  Passeggiata  and  the  low  sea-wall.  It 
was  the  same  ground  which  he  had  trodden  the 
night  before  in  his  despair,  and  now  he  was 
being  sent  over  it  again  to  carry  a  note  at  Gas- 
paro's  bidding.  It  was  as  if  Fate  had  deter- 
mined to  ridicule  each  turn  of  his  fortunes. 
He  was  tasting  that  experience  which  is  com- 
mon to  all  people  who  get  into  the  way  of  con- 
sidering their  lives  from  the  outside,  —  dramati- 
cally, as  it  were ;  the  experience  of  those  who, 
having  many  gifts,  yet  lack  simplicity.  He  con- 


THE  MORNING  AFTER.  IOg 

templated  and  criticised  any  mental  crisis  in 
which  he  found  himself  involved  until  it  lost  all 
sense  of  reality  and  became  a  situation.  He 
was,  if  possible,  too  clever,  too  sensitive.  He 
frittered  his  attention  away  on  the  by-play  of 
life.  As  he  walked  along  in  the  sunshine  of 
that  morning,  beside  the  blue  and  placid  sea,  it 
was  still  very  much  of  an  open  question  with 
Dino  what  real  role  he  was  to  enact  in  life  ;  it 
would  depend  so  much  upon  whom  he  met ; 
upon  association  and  circumstance ;  perhaps 
chiefly  upon  some  secret  pressure  of  influ- 
ence ;  the  gift  or  the  curse  of  some  unconscious 
soul. 

He  walked  slowly,  but  it  was  not  far  to  the 
entrance  of  the  Stabilimento.  Two  men  were 
lounging  in  the  gateway.  One  of  them  looked 
hard  at  Dino,  at  his  preoccupied  face,  and  the 
careless  workman's  dress. 

"  Here  !  Give  me  your  letter  and  I  '11  take  it 
in  for  you,  giovane  mio"  he  said  good-naturedly. 

Dino  threw  back  his  head  with  an  involuntary 
expression  of  annoyance. 

"  I  carry  my  own  messages,"  he  answered 
shortly. 

"  A  thousand  pardons  !  Evidently  the  Signer 
—  the  Signer  Carpenter,  shall  I  say  ?  or  the 
Signer  Facchino? —  evidently  he  wishes  to  pay 
for  his  entrance,  then  ?  For  let  me  tell  you  that 


HO  VESTIGIA. 

Pancaldi's  is  like  the  gate  of  Paradise ;  you  don't 
go  in  without  a  proper  lasciapassare" 

"  Nay,  can't  you  let  the  fellow  alone,  Beppi  ? 
Can't  you  see  that  he  is  carrying  a  message  ? 
Let  him  in,  you  idiot,  else  we  shall  have  the 
Padrone  himself  down  upon  us,"  the  other  man 
added  in  a  voice  like  an  intermittent  growl. 
He  moved  back  a  step  or  t\\o,  making  room  for 
Dino  to  pass.  "  Come  in,  come  in,  bel  giovane. 
You  need  never  mind  my  comrade  here  ;  you 
cannot  quarrel  with  a  dog  for  barking  at  his 
Dwn  gate.  Via"  he  said,  with  a  wave  of  his 
hand,  "  put  up  your  purse,  my  lad.  Save  the 
money  to  buy  your  sweetheart  a  fairing.  Nay, 
if  you  won't  believe  me,  you  can  read,  I  sup- 
pose ?  and  there  it  is  written  up  on  the  board 
in  front  of  you,  Children  and  servants,  admittance 
free.  And  so  put  up  your  money,  I  tell  you." 

"  And  pray  who  the  devil  told  you  that  I  was  a 
servant?"  demanded  Dino,  thrusting  his  hand 
into  his  pocket  and  drawing  out  a  crumpled  bit 
of  paper.  It  was  the  last  five-franc  note  he  had 
in  the  world  ;  he  tossed  it  contemptuously  across 
the  wooden  ledge  in  front  of  him.  "  Pay  your- 
self, and  try  to  know  a  gentleman  the  next  time 
you  see  one,  will  you  ?  " 

"Ah,  a  fine  gentleman,  truly,"  said  the  man 
called  Beppi,  picking  up  the  note  and  con- 
templating it  with  a  sneer. 


THE  MORNING  AFTER.  In 

" Perdio"  added  his  companion,  " a  man  with 
money  is  a  man  in  the  right.  So  put  that  in 
your  pipe,  amico  into,  and  smoke  it.  Ay, 
money,  it 's  like  one's  other  blood  ;  a  man  with 
empty  pockets,  't  is  but  a  dead  man  walking." 

"  Oh,  that's  all  very  fine,  but  /like  consistency. 
A  gentleman 's  a  gentleman,  /  say.  It  never 
was  so  much  of  a  world  to  boast  of  at  the  best, 
and  when  it  comes  to  a  new  tax  upon  the  wine, 
and  not  so  much  as  the  prospect  of  half  a  day's 
holiday  just  to  make  a  feast  for  the  blessed 
Madonna  of  Monte  Nero,  —  and  common  work- 
men who  go  about  throwing  five-franc  notes  in 
your  face,  as  if  the  world  had  gone  mad.  /  like 
consistency,  that 's  what  I  say,"  retorted  Beppi, 
in  a  voice  which  grew  gradually  lower  as  he 
looked  from  the  note  between  his  finger  and 
thumb  at  Dino's  receding  figure. 

It  was  scarcely  more  than  a  moment  before  De 
Rossi  had  come  upon  the  object  of  his  search. 
He  recognized  her  immediately  ;  indeed  he  had 
often  before  seen  her  passing  in  her  carriage,  a 
beautiful  impassive  figure,  wrapped  in  her  costly 
Russian  furs.  She  was  alone  now,  leaning 
over  the  balustrade  with  her  eyes  fixed  vaguely 
upon  the  changing  ripples  of  the  sea.  At  any 
other  moment  Dino.  might  have  felt  a  certain 
timidity  in  approaching  her  ;  but  the  irritation 
of  that  challenge  at  the  gate  was  still  strong 


112  VESTIGIA. 

upon  him.  This  woman  here  was  only  another 
of  those  aristocrats  whose  privileged  existences 
made  life  intolerable.  Was  it  intolerable  by 
conviction  of  its  injustice,  or  only  by  force  of 
contrast  ? 

But  he  troubled  himself  with  no  such  inquiry 
as  he  went  up  to  her.  He  lifted  his  hat :  "  Par- 
don my  disturbing  you;  but  I  bring  a  message 
—  a  letter  —  from  the  Signer  Marchese  Gasparo 
Balbi,"  he  said. 

She  was  a  tall  young  woman,  nearly  as  tall  as 
himself ;  that  was  the  first  thing  he  noticed. 
He  saw  her  gloved  hand  start  and  shut  more 
closely  over  the  railing  of  the  balcony  at  the 
first  sound  of  his  voice.  But  that  was  the  only 
sign  of  surprise  which  she  gave.  There  was 
not  a  quiver  of  perceptible  emotion  on  the  pale 
inscrutable  face  which  she  turned  so  slowly 
towards  him. 

"  Ben-e.  You  may  give  me  the  letter. 
Thanks." 

She  held  out  her  gauntleted  hand  with  a  ges- 
ture of  superb  indifference,  and  then,  as  her 
dark  glance  rested  for  the  first  time  upon  Dino, 
she  raised  her  perfect  eyebrows  with  a  slight 
expression  of  wonder.  She  had  expected  to  see 
Gaspare's  soldier  servant.  She  turned  her  face 
away  from  him. 

"  Madame  Helwige  ! " 


THE   MORNING   AFTER.  II3 

A  little  old  woman  dressed  in  black,  who  had 
been  quietly  seated  in  a  sunny  corner,  reading  a 
Tauchnitz  novel  under  the  shade  of  a  large 
parasol,  rose  quickly  and  came  forward  at  this 
call. 

"The  Signora  Contessa  desires  —  " 

"  My  purse.  Yes.  I  want  some  money,"  the 
young  woman  said  impatiently.  She  made  no 
secret  of  the  letter  she  had  received,  holding  it 
by  one  corner,  and  tapping  the  top  railing  with 
it  to  the  measure  of  an  inaudible  tune. 

"  Then,  if  I  can  do  nothing  more  for  you,  I  will 
go.  I  have  the  honor  of  wishing  you  good  morn- 
ing," added  Dino  quietly,  turning  away. 

"  Stop  a  moment.  This  lady  will  give  you 
something  for  your  trouble.  Or  —  stop !  Who 
are  you  ?  What  is  your  name  ?  " 

"  Bernardino  de'  Rossi." 

"  Ah.  The  Marchese  Gasparo's  foster-brother. 
That  explains.  I  have  heard  him  mention  you  : 
he  says  you  are  one  of  the  discontented  people, 
—  a  radical,  a  red  republican,  que  sais  je,  moi  ? 
Is  it  true  ? "  she  asked  calmly,  fixing  her  large 
disdainful  eyes  upon  the  young  man's  face. 

He  bowed  gravely.  "  Since  the  Signora  Con- 
tessa does  me  the  honor  to  inquire.  I  am  a 
radical ;  that  is  my  belief." 

"  Really  ?     And  you  think  we  are  all  equal  ? 
We  are  all  equally  discontented,  't  is  true  enough  ; 
8 


114  VESTIGIA. 

mats  apr&s  ?"  She  struck  the  balustrade  lightly 
with  her  letter.  "  Do  you  see  the  water  beating 
against  that  wall  of  rock,  Signer  de'  Rossi  ? 
Twice  a  day  the  tide  comes  in,  and  before  the 
waves  can  climb  half-way  up  the  cliff,  twice  a 
day  the  tide  goes  out.  'T  is  the  same  way  with 
the  people's  anger — ebb  and  flow.  And  the 
greatest  storm  can  only  wet  the  rocks  ;  it  can't 
uproot  them.  What  do  you  Italians  know  about 
such  things  ?  But  I,  I  am  a  Russian,  and  I  know." 
She  looked  out  to  sea  again.  "  When  the  waves 
beat  too  fiercely  against  the  shore  the  rock  breaks  ' 
them,"  she  said. 

Then  she  looked  at  Dino  tranquilly.  "  I  have 
heard  the  Marchese  Gasparo  speak  of  you  ;  he 
takes  an  interest  in  you.  It  would  be  a  pity  if 
you  should  disappoint  him,"  she  added,  and  moved 
away  slowly  with  a  careless  bend  of  her  head. 

Dino  stood  as  she  had  left  him  for  a  long 
moment,  holding  his  hat  in  his  hand,  the  wind 
just  ruffling  the  thick  hair  on  his  forehead,  gaz- 
ing fixedly  out  to  sea.  He  stood  like  a  man 
under  the  influence  of  some  spell.  Then,  as  he 
looked  up  and  caught  the  curious  glance  of  the 
Countess's  companion  fixed  full  upon  him,  he 
hastily  replaced  his  hat  and  turned  away. 

Just  outside  the  gate  he  came  upon  Valdez 
with  a  roll  of  music  in  his  hand,  going  about  his 
work.  Dino  nodded  to  him  ;  he  would  not  stop 


THE  MORNING   AFTER.  II5 

to  speak.  The  older  man  slackened  his  pace, 
looking  at  him  rather  sadly,  as  if  he  were  sorry 
for  something,  then  passed  on.  Afterwards  it 
struck  Dino  that  they  had  never  happened  to 
pass  one  another  in  this  silent  way  before.  He 
stopped,  looking  down  the  long  street  at  the  old 
familiar  figure.  But  what  had  they  to  say  to  each 
other  now,  even  if  he  should  turn  and  overtake 
him  ?  Dino  was  like  a  man  under  sentence  of 
death  ;  all  the  minor  obligations  of  life  seemed 
annulled  and  suspended  ;  where  they  clung  still 
it  was  by  force  of  habit,  like  the  withering 
tendrils  of  a  vine  cut  down  at  the  root. 

A  great  impatience  of  trouble  had  fallen  upon 
him  :  he  wanted  no  more  emotion,  no  more  effort. 
There  was  a  clear  fortnight,  perhaps  three  weeks 
before  —  before  he  would  be  sent  to  Rome. 
Well !  he  wanted  that  time  to  himself,  and  he  in- 
tended to  have  it,  he  intended  to  be  happy.  The 
first  great  shock  of  the  surprise  was  over :  his 
nature  had  already  re-adjusted  itself  to  these  new 
conditions  with  the  supple  strength  of  youth 
And  in  this  fixed  interval  of  quiet,  —  this  interval, 
which  seemed  all  the  longer  by  very  reason  of 
its  being  fixed,  —  all  the  light,  joy-loving  in- 
stincts of  his  age  were  alert  within  him,  making 
music  in  his  heart,  like  the  rapturous  song  of 
birds  between  two  storms.  The  habit  of  life,  its 
careless  young  incredulity  of  the  end,  had  never 


Il6  VESTIGIA. 

been  more  strong  upon  him  ;  he  had  never  felt 
more  irresponsible ;  had  never  looked,  perhaps 
had  never  been,  more  like  his  father  than  on  that 
morning,  as  he  turned  down  from  the  broad 
sunny  Passeggiata  towards  old  Drea's  house  on 
the  quay. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ITALIA. 

SEEN  by  daylight,  the  entrance  to  Drea's  house 
was  not  unlike  the  entrance  of  a  cave.  The 
house  itself  was  in  a  corner  of  the  canal,  flush 
with  the  water,  below  the  level  of  the  street,  and 
consisted  of  two  rooms,  —  the  long,  large  entrance 
room  where  the  table  had  been  laid  for  the  birth- 
day supper,  and  another  much  smaller  chamber 
beyond,  which  belonged  to  Italia,  and  was  lighted 
by  a  very  small,  round  window  like  the  port-hole 
of  a  ship,  which  looked  out  upon  the  water  on 
the  other  side  of  the  bridge.  The  whole  place 
indeed  had  been  originally  designed  for  a  Govern- 
ment boat-house  and  store-house,  and  was  sunk 
in  the  thickness  of  the  massive  stone  pier. 

On  a  sunny  morning  like  this,  when  the  door 
was  thrown  wide  open,  any  painter  passing  that 
way  would  have  been  charmed  by  the  mysterious 
look  of  the  interior,  the  dark-raftered  ceiling,  the 
smoke-embrowned  fireplace,  above  which  a  row 
of  bright  brass  plates  made  round  spots  of  light 
in  the  darkness,  and  then  the  heavy  coils  of  rope 


Il8  VESTIGIA. 

and  the  spare  oars,  arranged  with  all  a  sailor's 
habit  of  neatness,  against  the  whitewashed  wall. 
At  dusk,  and  when  the  fire  was  burning,  it  was 
like  looking  at  an  interior  of  Rembrandt's  to 
watch  the  play  of  light  and  shadow  over  the  rich 
ruddy  brown  tones  of  the  room  ;  but  on  this  par- 
ticular morning  the  fire  had  been  allowed  to  sink 
to  a  mere  handful  of  red  embers,  and  the  room 
was  full  of  the  fresh  smell  of  the  sea  air  and  the 
brightness  of  the  March  sunshine. 

At  the  foot  of  the  stone  steps  leading  down 
from  the  street  before  Drea's  door  there  was  a 
narrow  strip  of  stone  pavement,  and  a  floating 
wooden  stage  where  the  boat  was  moored.  In 
the  corner  there,  where  the  angle  of  the  great 
granite  buttress  made  a  sheltered  spot,  was 
Italia's'  favorite  seat.  By  sitting  well  back  in 
the  shadow  one  was  entirely  out  of  sight,  unless 
indeed  some  especially  adventurous  spirit  be- 
thought himself  to  take  the  trouble  to  lean 
bodily  over  the  parapet  of  the  bridge  overhead. 
But  it  was  too  busy  a  part  of  Leghorn  for  much 
idling  :  all  day  long  the  tramp,  tramp  of  hurry- 
ing feet,  and  the  hollow  rumbling  of  the  weighted 
carts  rolling  towards  the  lading  ships,  made  a 
dull,  continuous  bass,  which  effectually  covered 
any  sound  of  voices.  Italia  could  sing  there  by 
the  hour  over  her  work,  sure  of  never  being  heard, 
save  perhaps  by  some  taciturn  weather-beaten 


ITALIA. 


M9 


fisherman  poling  his  flat-bottomed  boat  into  the 
quieter  water  of  the  canal.  It  was  Drea's  own 
landing-stage,  and  he  was  jealous  of  his  rights  to 
it,  giving  but  few  boats  the  privilege  of  mooring 
there  for  an  hour.  Since  the  building  of  the 
railway,  now  that  the  canal  has  ceased  to  be  of 
use  for  the  heavier  traffic  between  Leghorn  and 
Pisa,  a  quieter  spot  than  this  could  scarcely  be  im- 
agined. For  even  the  supposititious  idler  would 
scarcely  be  tempted  to  look  this  way  when,  just 
across  the  bridge,  by  leaning  over  the  opposite 
balustrade,  one  could  look  down  upon  all  the 
hurry  and  interest  of  the  Old  Port,  and  watch 
the  slow  heaving  of  the  anchors,  the  puffing 
excitement  of  the  blackened  vessels  getting  up 
steam,  or  the  continual  come-and-go  of  the  little 
boats  among  the  shipping. 

The  noise  and  the  hurry  passed  like  an  un- 
heeded stream  around  Italia's  sheltered  corner. 
Dino  had  compared  her  once  to  an  enchanted 
princess,  and  her  quaint  rooms,  with  the  silent, 
sunny  platform  in  front  of  them,  to  a  strip  of 
enchanted  ground  set  apart  from  the  disturbing 
commonplaces  of  life.  The  remembrance  of  the 
old  fancy  brought  a  smile  upon  his  lips  as  he  ran 
lightly  down  the  steps  that  morning.  Drea  was 
not  there,  and  the  old  boat  was  not  at  her  moor- 
ing, but  Italia  was  sitting  just  where  he  had 
expected  to  find  her.  She  held  a  book  in  her 


120  VESTIGIA. 

hand,  but  she  was  not  reading,  she  was  looking 
dreamily  at  the  lazy  lapping  of  the  water  against 
the  old  wooden  stage.  She  wore  the  same  blue 
cotton  dress  as  on  the  previous  night,  but  she 
had  taken  off  her  beads  and  clasp,  and  tied  a 
scarlet  handkerchief  about  her  neck.  Her  hat 
was  lying  on  the  ground  beside  her  ;  Dino  picked 
it  up,  and  his  first  greeting  was  one  of  playful 
reproof. 

"  Bareheaded  in  this  March  sunshine,  my  Italia  ? 
Pazzarella  !  Your  father  was  right  indeed  when 
he  said  it  required  two  of  us  to  look  after  you." 

"  Dino  mio  !  " 

She  looked  up  at  him  with  a  wide,  dreamy 
glance,  which  suddenly  grew  bright  and  loving. 
The  hot  color  rushed  to  her  cheeks,  and  she  put 
up  her  little  brown  hands  as  if  to  hide  them, 
while  she  laughed  and  shook  her  head. 

"  Marzo  pazzo,  ah,  yes,  I  know  it.  But  indeed, 
Dino,  this  is  much  more  likely  to  drive  me  to 
distraction."  She  opened  the  book  on  her  lap, 
and  turned  over  half  a  dozen  pages.  "  I  have 
really  tried  to  learn  it,  really.  But  it  is  so  diffi- 
cult ;  you  have  no  idea  how  difficult  it  is, 
Dino." 

"  Poor  little  thing  !  It  is  a  shame  to  give  it 
such  hard  lessons,"  said  Dino  in  a  caressing  tone, 
looking  down  at  the  rough,  brown  hair.  He 
threw  himself  down  on  the  pavement  in  the 


ITALIA.  I2f 

shadow  at  her  feet,  and  put  up  his  hand  for  the 
book. 

"  Here  !  let  me  have  a  look  at  it,  and  see  if  I 
can't  do  something  to  make  it  easier  for  you. 
What  is  it  ?  Arithmetic  ?  Oh  !  but  this  is  what 
I  gave  you  to  do  long  ago.  No  wonder  you  find 
it  difficult ;  you  have  had  time  to  forget  all  my 
explanations.  Let  me  see  now ;  have  you  a 
pencil  ? " 

"  Yes  ;  but  you  can't  write  with  it.  I  Ve 
broken  the  point." 

"  Give  it  here,  then,  you  helpless  baby  ! " 

He  took  a  knife  out  of  his  pocket,  and  picking 
up  the  pencil  began  to  sharpen  it  while  she  sat 
watching  him,  her  dark  eyes  full  and  bright  with 
such  an  expression  of  unquestioning  content  as 
one  is  not  accustomed  to  expect  on  faces  which 
have  outgrown  their  first  childish  calm.  The 
water  of  the  canal  was  as  blue  that  morning  as 
the  stainless  sky  which  it  reflected,  and  it  seemed 
almost  as  still ;  only  now  and  then  the  faintest 
ripple  breaking  against  the  step  with  a  weak 
splash  and  stir  which  made  the  sunbeams  sparkle 
under  the  wooden  platform.  Beyond  the  dark 
archway  of  the  bridge  the  white-sailed  boats 
came  and  went ;  her  glance  followed  their  move- 
ment with  a  vague  sense  of  happy  peace.  She 
was  realizing  for  the  first  time  the  ideal  of 
all  loving-natured  women:  she  was  feeling  her 


122  VESTIGIA. 

happiness  depend  upon  the  will  of  the  man  she 
trusted.  When  Dino  looked  up  at  her  inquiringly 
she  started,  as  if  indeed  awakened  from  a  dream. 

"  Have  you  understood  ?  Is  that  plain  enough  ? 
Oh,  Italia!  Italia!  for  shame!  Is  that  the  way 
to  treat  a  learned  professor  ?  You  have  not  been 
looking  at  the  book  after  all,"  he  said  laughing, 
but  shaking  his  head  with  mock  severity. 

The  color  rushed  back  to  her  cheeks.  "  Oh  ! 
I  am  so  sorry,  Dino ;  I  forgot." 

"  Now,  if  I  were  your  father  I  should  tell  you 
that  one  does  not  carry  flowers  to  the  mill  when 
what  one  wants  is  bread  ;  and  the  quickest  way 
to  become  an  arithmetician  is  not  to  sit  watching 
for  the  boat.  By  the  way,  speaking  of  the  boat, 
Sor  Drea  must  have  gone  out  early  this  morning." 

"  Yes  ;  he  went  at  daybreak  ;  he  woke  me  up 
to  tell  me  he  was  going.  He  took  Maso  with 
him  to  help  with  the  nets." 

"Ah  !  I  wish  I  had  known,"  said  Dino  quickly. 

"  Father  thought  of  going  for  you  ;  then  he 
said  you  would  be  tired,  —  you  had  a  hard  day 
yesterday.  And  Sora  Catarina  would  not  know 
yet  of  your  arrangement ;  she  would  have  been 
frightened  if  you  had  been  fetched  away  suddenly 
in  the  middle  of  the  night." 

She  glanced  quickly  at  him,  and  added,  "  I  am 
glad  they  did  not  go  for  you  ;  you  look  so  tired 
this  morning,  Dino,  as  if  you  had  not  slept." 


ITALIA. 


123 


"  I  did  not  sleep  —  much,"  he  said  absently. 

He  threw  his  arm  up  and  laid  his  head  against 
it.  His  face  was  almost  on  a  level  now  with  the 
blue  ripple  of  the  water.  There  was  a  handful 
of  loose  straw  floating  about  among  the  piles  :  he 
watched  it  come  and  go  as  the  current  sucked  in 
under  the  landing-stage.  What  was  the  good  of 
thinking  —  of  remembering  ?  Why  had  Italia 
alluded  to  last  night  ?  Was  he  never  to  forget  it 
for  five  minutes  ? 

He  sat  up  abruptly,  brushing  the  hair  out  of 
his  eyes  ;  but  as  he  moved  she  spoke. 

"  Won't  you  give  me  the  book  now,  Dino  ? " 
She  bent  her  head  down  over  it :  "I  did  not 
mean  to  vex  you  ;  I  did  not  mean  to  tease  you 
when  you  are  so  tired." 

She  looked  so  like  a  child  submitting  to  some 
half-understood  reproof  that  Dino  could  scarcely 
restrain  the  impulse  of  mingled  tenderness  and 
adoration  which  made  him  long  to  take  her  in  his 
arms  and  kiss  her.  But  he  forced  himself  to  an- 
swer lightly :  "  What  nonsense,  little  one  ;  as  if 
anything  you  did  could  vex  me ! "  He  looked 
about  him  :  "  I  suppose  I  ought  to  be  going  now. 
There  is  no  telling  when  Sor  Drea  will  be  in  if 
he  has  taken  the  nets  ;  but  I  wish  you  would 
sing  to  me  —  just  one  song  before  I  go."  He 
took  the  book  away  from  her  and  closed  it  gently. 
"  After  all,  you  are  right ;  it  is  better  to  have 


124 


VESTIGIA. 


music  than  to  do  one's  lesson  on  such  a  morn- 
ing. Sums  are  made  for  different  weather,  are 
they  not,  Italia  mia  ?  For  days  when  the  libcc- 
cio  blows,  and  one  does  not  mind  wasting  a  whole 
morning  over  one  terrible  bit  of  multiplication." 

"  Oh,  but  even  I  am  not  quite  so  bad  as  that," 
said  Italia  quickly.  "I  had  only  just  brought 
out  my  book  when  you  came ;  before  then  I  had 
been  talking  to  the  Signor  Padrone." 

"What! "said  Dino,  in  quite  an  altered  voice. 
He  noticed  the  change  himself,  but  he  could  not 
prevent  it  ;  it  was  all  he  could  do  to  ask  the 
question  quietly,  "  Has  —  has  the  Marchese  Gas- 
paro  been  here  ?  " 

"  Surely,"  said  Italia,  looking  at  him  with 
some  surprise  ;  "  he  came  here  about  an  hour  ago 
to  speak  about  the  boat  to  my  father.  He  wants 
to  take  a  party  of  .his  friends  out  for  a  sail." 
She  added  :  "  I  thought  you  knew  he  had  been 
here  ;  he  told  me  he  had  met  you." 

"  No,  I  did  not  know  it,"  said  Dino,  speaking 
between  his  teeth. 

All  the  radiant  sweetness  of  the  day  seemed 
blotted  out  before  him.  It  was  very  well  for 
that  child  there  innocently  to  accept  this  fiction 
about  the  boat  ;  but  did  not  he,  Dino,  understand 
Gasparo  better?  A  dozen  stories  of  the  hand- 
some Captain's  powers  of  fascination  flashed 
back  across  him.  He  thought  of  the  woman  to 


ITALIA.  125 

whom  he  had  carried  the  letter  that  very  morn- 
ing. The  letter !  It  was  a  trick  to  get  him  out 
of  the  way;  that  was  why  Gasparo  had  turned 
that  friendly,  smiling  face  upon  him,  and  talked 
of  "  old  times,"  of  "  days  when  they  were  boys 
together,"  and  all  the  while  he  was  planning  this 
visit  to  Italia  —  damn  him  ! 

He  forgot  all  about  Italia's  presence.  With  a 
sudden  prophetic  feeling  he  seemed  looking 
straight  ahead  into  the  future.  He  could  see 
exactly  what  would  happen,  such  an  old,  old 
story;  and  to  think  that  such  misery  could  even 
come  near  Italia,  his  little  playfellow,  his  little 
girl.  If  he  had  only  known  in  time  ;  if  he  had 
warned  that  strange  lady  when  he  spoke  to  her 
this  morning,  that  would  indeed  have  been  fight- 
ing Gasparo  with  his  own  weapons !  And  then 
he  remembered  the  tone  of  her  voice  when  she 
spoke  to  him  ;  to  him,  a  man,  not  a  girl  thrown 
upon  her  mercy.  "  When  the  waves  beat  too 
fiercely  against  the  shore  the  rock  breaks  them," 
she  said.  And  he  was  to  go  away,  he  had  sworn 
it,  and  it  was  in  such  hands  that  he  was  to  leave 
the  future  of  Italia  ! 

He  had  been  silent  so  long  that  she  thought 
him  very  tired.  Perhaps  he  was  depressed,  too, 
about  this  sudden  change  in  his  fortunes.  His 
mother  might  have  been  finding  fault  with  him  ; 
Italia  was  always  a  little  afraid  of  the  Sora 


126  VESTIGIA. 

Catarina,  who  was  associated  in  her  mind  with 
dark  reproving  looks  and  a  generally  grave  and 
joyless  view  of  life.  It  was  always  a  matter  of 
secret  wonder  to  her  when  she  heard  her  father 
allude  to  the  days  when  Dino's  mother  had  been 
a  young  and  handsome  girl.  In  her  heart  Italia 
could  never  imagine  her  looking  otherwise  than 
imperious  and  miserable.  It  seemed  quite  prob- 
able now  that  she  should  be  the  cause  of  Dino's 
look  of  unhappiness. 

"  I  think  you  would  be  pleased  to  hear  one 
thing,"  she  said,  gently.  "  Signor  Gasparo  was 
talking  to  me  this  morning  about  my  father. 
You  know  the  old  Marchese  always  used  to  say 
that  he  should  leave  my  father  something  in  his 
will  because  of  the  service  he  did  that  night 
when  the  steamer  was  wrecked.  You  know, 
Dino ;  when  we  were  children.  And  Signor 
Gasparo  says  that  since  his  father  forgot  to  put 
it  into  his  will  in  writing,  it  makes  no  difference 
at  all.  He  is  going  to  speak  to  the  lawyers  and 
to  the  Signora  Marchesa  about  it,  and  my  father 
will  have  the  money  just  the  same.  It  is  a  great 
deal  of  money,  three  hundred  francs,  in  gold. 
Father  can  buy  a  new  boat  with  it  —  dear 
father !  Are  you  not  glad,  Dino  ? "  She  was 
silent  for  a  moment,  and  then,  for  the  first  time, 
a  shadow  came  across  her  face.  "  I  thought 
you  would  be  so  glad.  That  was  half  the  pleas- 


ITALIA. 


127 


ure  of  it,  —  the  telling  you,"  she  said  rather 
wistfully. 

"  I  am  glad,"  Dino  answered,  in  a  harsh  me- 
chanical voice. 

And  then  the  blank  look  of  disappointment  on 
the  sweet  face  bending  over  him  struck  him  like 
a  pang.  He  sat  up,  rubbing  both  hands  over  his 
head,  and  ruffling  up  his  thick  curly  hair.  "  My 
Italia,  you  must  know  without  my  telling  you  if 
I'  am  glad  to  hear  of  any  good  fortune  coming 
to  you  or  to  Drea.  But  you  must  be  patient 
with  me  this  morning,  carina.  I  have  things  to 
vex  me  ;  and  I  am  very  weary." 

"  Poor  Dino !  It  is  my  fault  for  tiring  you. 
But  I  will  sing  to  you  now.  That  will  rest 
you  better  than  anything  else,"  she  said  sooth- 
ingly, gazing  down  at  him  with  frank,  loving 
eyes. 

Dino  smiled  faintly.  This  sudden  reawaken- 
ing of  thought  was  like  the  clutch  of  a  physical 
pain.  "  Sing  to  me  with  your  guitar.  That  is 
more  formal.  It  is  more  like  making  a  stranger 
of  me,"  he  said,  answering  her  look.  As  she 
moved  away  he  shut  his  eyes,  and  buried  his  face 
again  on  his  folded  arm.  The  last  hope  was 
gone.  After  this  what  would  be  the  use  of  warn- 
ing Drea  ?  The  simple  loyal-hearted  old  man 
was  as  incapable  of  tempering  his  gratitude  for 
a  gift  with  a  criticism  of  the  giver's  motives  as 


I28  VESTIGIA. 

the  veriest  child.  His  little  store  of  wisdom  held 
no  formula  for  such  a  case.  It  would  be  next  to 
impossible  to  make  him  believe  in  any  form  of 
treachery  connected  with  the  handsome,  open- 
handed  young  master ;  and,  even  if  it  were  pos- 
sible, Dino  foresaw  only  too  clearly  what  would 
be  the  first,  —  the  immediate  result.  For  had 
he  not  pledged  himself  to  care  for  and  protect 
Italia  ?  And  what  more  natural  than  that  her 
father  should  turn  to  him  in  this  emergency  ? 

He  lay  so  quiet  that  Italia  believed  him  to  be 
half  asleep.  She  looked  down  at  him  two  or 
three  times  as  she  sat  there  tuning  her  guitar ; 
but  as  he  did  not  move  she  did  not  speak  to  him. 
Presently  she  began  to  sing. 

She  sang  song  after  song ;  odds  and  ends  of 
old  ballads  ;  love-catches  such  as  the  peasants 
sing  to  themselves  while  the  sheep  are  grazing ; 
full  rhythmical  snatches  of  modern  Greek  she  had 
learned  from  wandering  sailors.  She  sang  softly, 
a  mezza  voce,  with  an  exquisite  liquid  tender- 
ness in  her  voice,  like  the  lowest  notes  of  a  brood- 
ing bird. 

Once,  as  there  came  a  sound  of  dripping  oars, 
she  broke  off  suddenly.  A  boat  passed  very 
near  them,  and  she  nodded  with  a  smile  to  the 
stout  man  in  the  faded  uniform  who  was  seated 
in  the  bows. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Dino,  without  lifting  his 


ITALIA.  I2CJ 

head,  —  he  too  had  heard  the  sharp  click  of  the 
rowlocks. 

"  Dino  !  are  you  awake  ?  And  I  thought  you 
were  sleeping  so  sweetly.  Did  that  boat  wake 
you  then  ?  It  was  nothing ;  only  the  custom- 
house men  rowing  old  Captain  Piero  home  to  get 
his  dinner.  See  !  there  he  is  still  waving  his 
hand  to  me.  I  see  him  every  day ;  he  always 
passes  at  this  hour." 

"But  he  does  not  always  see  you  singing  a 
visitor  asleep,"  said  Dino,  sitting  up  rather  hastily 
and  looking  after  the  departed  boat.  "  No,  I  was 
not  dreaming,  my  Italia  ;  unless  it  be  a  dream 
to  feel  one's  whole  heart  and  soul  full  of  you." 
The  words  slipped  out  unintentionally ;  an  in- 
stant later  he  would  have  given  anything  to 
recall  them.  He  felt  sure  she  had  taken  in  their 
full  meaning  by  the  very  silence  which  fell  upon 
her.  She  sat  absolutely  motionless  ;  he  was  sure 
of  it,  but  he  would  not  trust  himself  to  look  at 
her.  He  only  added,  in  a  tone  which  he  tried 
to  make  quite  impersonal,  "  I  am  afraid  your 
Captain  Piero  will  only  have  a  poor  opinion  of 
my  politeness.  Do  you  think  we  could  explain 
to  him  that  I  was  not  quite  so  insensible  as  I 
seemed  ? " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Italia,  rising  and  laying 
down  the  guitar.  She  moved  away  a  few  steps 
and  stood  leaning  against  the  gray  buttress,  her 
9 


130 


VESTIGIA. 


scarlet  neck-handkerchief  making  a  vivid  spot  of 
color  there  like  a  flower. 

"  I  can  see  —  I  think  I  can  see  my  father's 
boat,"  she  said,  bending  forward  and  taking  hold 
of  the  edge  of  the  bridge's  arch. 

"  Take  care  ! " 

Dino  got  up  and  went  and  stood  beside  her. 

"  Don't  lean  too  far  forward,  dear.  Is  that 
Drea's  boat  ?  What  eyes  you  have,  my  Italia ! 
See,  the  wind  is  against  her ;  she  will  have  to 
come  in  on  another  tack." 

The  patched  sail  bent  and  dipped  as  he  spoke. 
The  boat  seemed  gliding  'away  from. them. 

He  looked  down  at  her.  They  were  standing 
so  close  together  now  he  could  see  the  quick  rise 
and  fall  of  her  breath ;  the  stirring  of  the  wind 
in  her  roughened  hair  ;  the  quivering  shadow 
where  the  long  lashes  rested  on  her  cheek. 

One  hand  hung  loosely  by  her'side.  He  barely 
touched  it,  with  fingers  that  trembled. 

"  Italia  ! " 

What  were  resolutions  or  remembrance  ?  All 
the  world  had  faded  away  ;  there  were  no  living 
presences  now  but  himself  and  this  girl  beside 
him,  and  that  far-off  winged  boat  moving  slowly 
toward  them  across  the  shining  water.  "  My 
Italia  ?  "  She  turned  a  radiant  face  towards  him. 
The  momentary  shyness  which  had  made  her 
leave  her  place  was  gone  now ;  there  was  only 


ITALIA.  131 

left  a  deep  look  of  rapture  in  the  dark  loving 
eyes. 

"  Yes,  Dino.  You  do  love  me.  I  know  it," 
she  said  simply.  She  did  not  change  her  expec- 
tant attitude  ;  but  she  moved  her  hand  until  the 
little  brown  fingers  clasped  his. 

They  stood  so  for  fully  a  minute  without  speak- 
ing, their  eyes  fixed  on  the  approaching  boat. 
"And  you  love  me  too,  Italia  ?  You  will  say  that 
you  love  me  ?  "  Dino  said  in  a  half  whisper.  He 
had  not  meant  to  say  this.  He  had  resolved  not 
to  say  it ;  but  what  was  the  good  of  prudence  now  ? 
The  patched  sail  was  drawing' nearer  ;  there  was 
only  this  one  moment  left  in  which  fearfully  to 
snatch  at  perfect  joy.  He  held  his  breath  lest 
she  should  delay  to  speak. 

But  Italia  answered  him  with  grave  simplicity. 
There  was  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  in  her  heart, 
not  a  cloud  upon  her  heaven  of  content.  Per- 
haps they  had  never  been  farther  apart,  these 
two,  in  all  their  sensations,  than  at  this  first 
moment  of  supreme  understanding. 

"  I  do  love  you,"  she  said,  in  her  clear,  full  voice. 
And  then  at  the  sound  of  her  own  words  she 
started  ;  Dino  felt  the  movement  of  her  fingers  in 
his  ;  her  eyes  filled  with  happy  tears,  and  the  color 
swept  in  a  quick  wave  over  her  pale  face  and 
throat.  "  I  think  I  have  always  loved  you  —  after 
my  father,  —  always,  since  I  was  a  little  girl,  my 
Dino,"  she  said  softly. 


132  VESTIGIA. 

"  Only —  after  your  father,  Italia  ?  " 

She  hesitated  ;  but  he  had  asked  his  question 
an  instant  too  late, 'for  now  the  wind  had  really 
caught  the  flapping  sail  of  the  Bella  Maria  ;  they 
could  see  the  quick  movement  of  old  Drea's  hand 
on  the  tiller,  and  hear  his  voice  calling  out  an 
order  to  Maso.  In  another  moment  the  two  men 
had  brought  the  old  brown  boat  cleverly  alongside. 
Dino  made  a  quick  catch  at  the  rope  that  was 
flung  to  him  ;  there  was  a  momentary  struggle  of 
strong-armed  Maso  with  the  heavy  sail. 

"  Well,  lad,"  said  Drea,  standing  up  at  his 
place  by  the  helm  and  looking  about  him.  "  Well, 
my  little  girl  !  " 

"  Was  it  a  good  morning's  work,  father  ?  " 

"  Mah  f  ...  I've  seen  worse  days,  child,  I  Ve 
seen  worse  days.  Mind  what  you  are  about  with 
those  nets,  you  Maso  !  That 's  right,  lad  ;  give 
him  a  hand.  We  wanted  another  man  with  us, 
but  I  Ve  seen  worse  hauls  for  all  that.  You  '11  be 
ready  to  go  out  with  us  to-night,  eh,  Dino  ? " 

"  Yes,  Sor  Drea." 

"  Ay,  ay.  You  'd  have  come  with  us  this  morn- 
ing fast  enough,  I  'm  thinking,  but  the  girl  there 
would  n't  hear  of  my  sending  for  you.  '  He  has 
had  a  hard  day  ;  he  will  be  so  tired,  father,'  she 
said.  Tired  !  Santissima  Vergine !  and  she  a 
sailor's  daughter !  "  The  old  man  chuckled, 
straightening  his  back  and  rubbing  his  stiffened 


ITALIA. 


133 


shoulder  joints.  "But,  bless  you,  they're  all 
alike,  and  even  one's  own  daughter  is  a  woman. 
Women  !  they  '11  pray  all  day  for  rain,  and  be 
frightened  the  first  minute  they  see  a  cloud  in 
the  sky.  —  You  '11  get  your  dinner  here,  Maso." 

Maso,  a  broad-backed  young  fellow  in  a  blue 
jacket,  looked  up  from  the  wet  heap  of  nets  with 
a  smile  which  showed  all  his  white  teeth.  "  Ay, 
Sor  Drea." 

"  And  I  must  be  off  home,"  said  Dino,  looking 
at  Italia. 

"  Ay,  lad.  You  '11  stay  another  time  likely. 
There  won't  be  too  much  dinner  to-day  for  three 
of  us,"  the  fisherman  said  simply,  "  and  Maso 
has  earned  his  share.  The  chestnut  is  for  the 
man  who  takes  its  shell  off:  that 's  my  way  o' 
thinking." 

"  I  could  not  stop  in  any  case ;  thanking  you 
kindly  all  the  same,  Sor  Drea.  I  told  my  mother 
I  'd  be  back  to  dinner.  By  the  way,  I  was  to  ask 
you  if  it  is  all  settled  about  our  going  up  there  ?  " 
he  nodded  in  the  direction  of  Monte  Nero.  - 

"  Ay,  ay.  'T  is  settled  for  Sunday  fast  enough. 
Sora  Catarina  has  only  to  get  herself  ready.  We 
might  have  had  worse  luck,  Maso  ;  we  might 
have  had  worse  luck.  'T  was  stifBsh  work  with 
only  two  of  us,"  old  Drea  said,  sitting  down  on 
the  edge  of  the  platform  with  his  feet  in  the  boat 
to  light  his  pipe.  "  Mah  /  .  .  .  che  volete  ? 


134 


VESTIGIA. 


There  's  nothing  like  the  day  after  a  storm  for 
finding  out  the  color  o'  the  bottom  o'  things. 
There  's  good  in  every  wind  that  blows,  lad,  for 
a  man  who  knows  how  to  set  his  sail." 

He  thrust  a  heap  of  the  wet  shining  fish  aside 
with  his  foot. 

"  When  there 's  not  so  many  o'  the  big  there 's 
more  o'  the  little.  You  know  what  I  'm  always 
telling  you.  The  Devil  himself,  con  rispetto  par- 
lendo,  the  Devil  himself  has  a  curly  tail." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

INCIDENTAL. 

THERE  was  a  letter  waiting  at  home  for  Dino. 
"  It  stands  there  on  the  dresser  ;  give  it  to  your 
brother,  child.  One  of  Lucia's  little  nephews 
brought  it,  maybe  half  an  hour  after  you  were 
gone,"  Sora  Catarina  said. 

"  It  was  Beppi  brought  it,  Dino.  He  came 
with  it  on  his  way  to  school.  He  likes  going 
to  school ;  I  asked  him,  and  he  said,  '  Yes.' 
Mother,  why  don't  I  go  to  school  ?  I  wish  I 
went  to  school,"  said  Palmira,  in  a  complaining 
tone. 

"  School  indeed  !  and  a  nice  place  you  would 
find  it,  bambino,  mia.  Nay,  you  be  content  to 
stay  where  you  are  looked  after  and  get  plenty 
to  eat.  Gesu  Maria  !  't  is  all  very  well  for  such 
as  Lucia's  nipotini,  poor  children, — 'twill  maybe 
take  their  minds  off  their  hunger,  learning  to 
read.  But  learning's  a  poor  sauce  to  empty 
plates  in  my  opinion." 

"  Does  n't  Beppi  have  anything  to  eat  but 
empty  plates  ? "  asked  Palmira,  opening  wide 


1 36  VESTIGIA. 

her  eyes.  She  added,  after  a  moment's  reflec- 
tion, "  But  you  gave  him  some  white  bread 
to-day,  mother.  I  saw  you  do  it." 

"  Nay,  eat  your  dinner,  child,  and  talk  after- 
wards. Don't  you  see  your  brother  is  reading?" 
said  Sora  Catarina,  in  a  lowered  tone,  passing 
her  two  hands  over  the  little  girl's  hair  under 
pretence  of  adjusting  her  pinafore. 

The  letter  was  from  Valdez.  All  the  time  he 
had  spent  in  walking  home  Dino  had  been 
thinking  of  Valdez,  planning  about  him,  rehears- 
ing in  his  own  mind  the  words  of  some  wild 
appeal  which  was  to  free  him  once  for  all  from 
the  intolerable  burden  laid  upon  his  life.  Last 
night  seemed  so  far  away.  He  had  passed 
through  a  whole  world  of  emotion  since  then. 
He  had  put  Italia  between  himself  and  his 
promises  to  those  men  ;  he  had  made  himself 
responsible  for  her  happiness,  and  it  was  impos- 
sible, even  Valdez  with  all  his  fanaticism  must 
see  that,  —  it  was  impossible  she  should  be  made 
to  suffer  for  him.  Out-of-doors  there,  looking 
at  Maso's  good-natured  simple  face,  with  old 
Drea's  cheery  voice  in  his  ears,  it  had  somehow 
seemed  such  an  easy,  natural  thing  that  matters 
should  arrange  themselves.  But  this  note  was 
like  a  death-warrant.  Before  he  opened  it  he 
knew  there  was  no  hope:  the  shadow  had  closed 
around  him. 


INCIDENTAL. 


137 


There  were  but  three  lines,  — 

"  I  have  reason  to  fear  we  are  watched.  Do 
not  try  to  see,  or  communicate  with,  me  until 
you  hear  again.  Be  prudent  and  patient:  you 
will  hear  in  good  time.  The  child  who  brings 
this  lives  in  my  house,  and  is  a  safe  messenger." 

There  was  no  signature. 

Dino  crushed  the  note  up  in  his  hand  with  an 
impulse  of  personal  enmity.  He  turned  away 
from  the  window  and  took  his  seat  at  the  table 
without  a  word,  but  no  effort  of  self-control 
could  keep  his  lips  from  turning  white,  or  alter 
the  fixed  look  of  pain  about  his  eyes. 

"  The  letter  was  from  Pietro  Valdez,  surely  ? 
Was  it  bad  news,  figliuolo  ?  What  has  hap- 
pened, in  the  name  of  all  the  blessed  saints!" 
said  Sora  Catarina,  clasping  her  hands  and  look- 
ing at  him. 

He  made  an  effort  to  smile  as  he  said,  "Noth- 
ing, mother ;  it 's  nothing.  Valdez  only  writes 
to  say  I  shall  not  see  him  ;  he  will  be  busy  for 
a  day  or  two." 

"And  is  it  not  seeing  that  man  could  m^ke 
your  face  go  the  color  of  a  piece  of  linen  bleach- 
ing in  the  sun  ?  Nay,  figliuolo  mio,  I  am  not 
one  of  those  people  who  think  they  are  seeing 
through  a  wall  when  all  the  time  they  are  look- 
ing at  their  own  reflections  in  a  looking-glass. 
'Tis  nothing  an  old  man  could  write  you  would 


1 38  VESTIGIA. 

turn  your  face  that  color."  She  lowered  her 
voice.  "Tell  me  the  truth,  Dino.  You  have 
been  harving  a  quarrel  with  Italia  ? " 

"  No,  indeed,  mother,"  said  Dino,  pushing  away 
his  plate  and  standing  up.  He  could  not  swal- 
low the  food  before  him.  He  could  see  that  his 
mother  was  not  convinced  by  his  denial,  but  it 
was  easier  to  leave  her  under  any  delusion 
rather  than  to  submit  longer  to  the  worry  of  a 
cross-examination.  He  took  refuge  in  saying, 
"  I  am  not  well ;  my  head  aches.  I  don't  want 
any  dinner.  I  shall  go  and  lie  down." 

"Yes,  my  Dino,  yes.  Lie  down.  Santissima 
Vergine,  that  it  may  not  be  the  fever ! "  said 
Sora  Catarina,  crossing  herself  devoutly. 

She  kept  going  to  the  door  of  his  room  to  look 
at  him  at  intervals  all  the  afternoon.  About  six 
o'clock  Maso  called  with  a  long  message  from 
old  Drea.  The  Marchese  Gasparo  had  hired  the 
boat  for  a  three  days'  trip  to  Viareggio.  If 
Dino  was  coming,  he  was  to  be  ready  immedi- 
ately :  the  wind  was  fair,  and  Drea  proposed  to 
start  before  seven.  "  He  said  I  was  to  tell  you 
the  boat  would  be  back  on  Saturday  night,  in 
time  for  Monte  Nero,"  Maso  concluded,  looking 
carefully  into  the  crown  of  his  hat  and  shaking 
it,  as  though  to  assure  himself  that  he  had  for- 
gotten there  no  part  of  his  commission. 

He  waited  for   Dino  at  the  door,  and   they 


INCIDENTAL. 


139 


walked  down  to  the  pier  together.  Gasparo  was 
standing  smoking  a  cigar  at  the  head  of  the 
steps  under  a  gas-lamp.  He  nodded  cheerfully 
to  Dino.  "  That 's  right,  old  fellow.  Glad  you 
are  coming,"  he  said.  The  two  men  were  with 
him  whom  Dino  had  seen  at  the  door  of  the 
"  Giappone"  that  morning. 

.  They  seemed  to  have  many  friends  at  Via- 
reggio.  The  Bella  Maria  was  kept  in  constant 
readiness,  for  there  was  no  telling  at  what  hour 
a  message  might  not  come  down  from  some 
neighboring  villa,  to  be  followed  shortly  by  a 
company  of  pleasure-seekers  bound  for  a  sail. 
On  one  occasion  Dino  saw  a  face  he  knew 
among  the  cloaked  and  furred  figures  whom 
Gasparo  was  handing  so  carefully  on  board. 

There  was  an  unsteady  wind  that  afternoon, 
and  the  boat  was  heavily  laden  :  it  was  some 
time  before  Dino  could  look  away  from  his  task 
of  watching  the  uncertain  half-filled  sails,  but 
when  at  last  the  breeze  struck  them  fully  and 
the  Bella  Maria  ran  out  of  harbor  on  a  long 
smooth  tack,  he  could  not  resist  his  wish  to  see 
if  he  too  had  been  recognized. 

The  Contessa  must  have  been  watching  him, 
for  the  moment  he  turned  his  head  their  eyes 
met.  He  took  off  his  woollen  cap  hastily,  with- 
out speaking.  She  kept  her  dark  eyes  fixed 
steadily  upon  him  for  a  moment. 


140 


VESTIGIA. 


"  You  have  taken  my  advice,  then  ?  This  is 
wiser  than  building  barricades,"  she  said  in  a 
low  voice. 

She  looked  as  if  she  might  have  added  some- 
thing more,  but  at  that  moment  Gasparo,  who 
was  sitting  beside  her  sheltering  her  from  the 
sun  by  holding  up  her  parasol,  —  Gasparo  leaned 
forward  and  repeated  some  remark. 

The  Contessa  laughed.  "You  think  so,  waie- 
ment?  It  is  not  my  experience.  I  find  it  is 
not  only  the  virtues  which  require  a  certain 
elbow-room  in  which  comfortably  to  expand. 
Some  people  fight  against  their  own  selfishness 
in  this  world,  but  mostly  they  fight  the  selfish- 
ness of  their  neighbors." 

"  And  why  not  ?  After  all,  it 's  other  people's 
selfishness  that  one  objects  to,"  said  Gasparo 
gaily. 

"  And  that  is  only  out  of  disinterestedness," 
struck  in  another  man,  who  had  not  yet  spoken. 
"  You  are  too  severe  upon  us,  Contessa.  One 
never  tires  of  virtue." 

She  lifted  her  delicate  eyebrows  inquiringly. 

"Well  —  not  of  other  people's  virtue:  one 
tires  of  one's  own  perhaps." 

"But  it's  so  seldom  one  has  the  chance  of 
that"  added  Gasparo  lightly,  pulling  with  one 
hand  at  the  fringe  of  the  big  parasol.  He  had 
distinctly  heard  what  had  been  said  to  Dino  ;  but 


INCIDENTAL.  l^l 

now,  as  his  eye  rested  upon  him,  he  nodded  in 
a  half-careless,  half-friendly  manner.  "  She 's 
going  better  now.  We  shall  get  more  wind  be- 
yond the  breakwater,  eh,  lad  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Dino,  putting  on  his  cap  again 
and  going  forward  to  coil  away  a  loose  rope. 

Everything  he  had  noticed  in  the  last  day  or 
two  made  him  feel  safer  about  Gasparo.  The 
young  Marchese  was  an  excellent  sailor;  he 
was  absorbed  in  his  present  amusement ;  the 
two  young  men  had  not  exchanged  a  word  un- 
connected with  the  management  of  the  boat. 

Those  three  last  days  had  seemed  to  Dino  to 
pass  like  a  dream.  After  his  sedentary  habits  of 
life  between  the  four  walls  of  an  office,  the  mere 
fact  of  being  always  out-of-doors  and  always 
actively  employed  would  have  sufficed  to  change 
all  his  impressions.  He  was  intoxicated  with 
fresh  air,  with  sunlight,  and  the  exhilarating 
sense  of  energetic  work.  "  There  's  no  life  like  it, 
lad  ;  no  life  like  it,"  old  Drea  told  him  more 
than  once.  "Other  men  may  make  a  better 
living,  I  'm  not  denying  it ;  but  to  be  content 
with  what  one  gets  in  this  world  is  to  be  the 
master  of  it.  When  you  're  as  old  as  I  am 
you'll  find  that  you  can't  put  one  foot  in  two 
shoes,  boy;  it's  a  good  plan  to  know  what  you 
want  and  be  contented  with  it  when  you  've  got 
it,  —  a  rare  good  plan." 


142 


VE&TIGIA. 


"  If  only  wanting  were  enough  to  get  it,"  said 
Dino  bitterly. 

"  Lad,  lad !  Bisogna  dar  tempo  al  tempo  — 
give  time  time  enough  to  work  in.  But  you 
youngsters  are  all  alike;  you  expect  to  smell 
fried  fish  before  the  nets  are  even  cast  into  the 
water." 

"  That  'ud  be  a  poor  look-out  for  supper," 
observed  silent  Maso  with  a  grin. 

"What  !  were  you  listening  to  what  I  was 
saying  ?  Then  I  'm  bound  you  '11  be  whistling 
for  a  wind  before  long,  my  boy  ;  —  you  know 
the  old  saying,  when  you  see  a  donkey  listen- 
ing it's  a  sign  the  weather  is  changing,"  re- 
torted old  Drea,  shifting  his  pipe  in  his  mouth 
and  giving  vent  to  a  dry  chuckle. 

But  presently,  as  Maso  moved  away,  Dino 
looking  up  found  the  old  man's  keenly-inquiring 
glance  fixed  full  upon  him. 

"  We  've  known  each  other  a  good  many  years, 
and  each  of  us  knows  pretty  well  what  timber 
the  other's  boat  is  built  of.  Without  wasting 
breath,  boy, — is  there  anything  troubling  you?" 

Dino  doubled  up  his  fist  and  struck  one  of 
the  rowlocks  tighter  into  its  place.  "  Oh  !  every 
one  is  more  or  less  troubled,"  he  said  evasively. 

"Ay;  but  there's  a  difference,  there's  a  dif- 
ference, boy.  Little  worries,  Lord  bless  you ! 
they  're  everywhere.  And  they  're  like  a  grain 


INCIDENTAL. 


143 


o'  sand  in  your  eye,  no  use  to  any  mortal  man,  out 
or  in.  But  real  trouble's  a  different  thing.  I  'm 
not  saying  there 's  no  use  in  it,  or  even  that  a  man 
ought  to  hope  to  escape  it ;  it 's  only  a  fool  would 
expect  the  wind  always  to  be  blowing  from  the 
same  point  o'  the  compass.  And  a  real  sorrow 
—  an  old  sorrow  —  I  've  known  it  to  act  like  bal- 
last. It 's  heavy ;  ay  ;  but  it  trims  the  boat. 
There's  many  a  man  wouldn't  sail  so  straight 
about  his  day's  work  if  there  was  n't  some  dead 
weight  o'  that  sort  at  his  heart  to  steady  him." 

He  was  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then  once 
more  he  looked  with  a  kindly,  affectionate  glance 
at  the  young  man's  flushed  and  averted  face. 
"  I  'm  not  asking  for  more  than  you  want  to  tell, 
lad.  When  a  real  friend  has  got  two  eyes  to 
look  at  you  with,  sometimes  the  best  service  he 
can  do  you  is  to  keep  one  o'  them  shut.  There's 
nothing  easier  than  to  sail  when  the  right  wind 's 
blowing  ;  you  '11  tell  me  all  about  it  fast  enough 
when  the  time  comes.  Andiamo !  corraggio, 
ragazzo  !  It 's  a  poor  business  looking  at  the 
sun  with  a  cloudy  face." 

He  gave  a  searching  look  at  the  horizon, 
"  We  '11  be  in  in  half  an  hour  more  if  the  wind 
holds  —  we  '11  have  her  snug  in  harbor  before 
sunset.  And  then,  hey  !  for  a  clear  sky  to-mor- 
row and  a  day  at  Monte  Nero.  To-morrow  '11 
be  the  finest  day  we've  had  this  week,  and  I  'm 


144 


VESTIGIA. 


glad  o't,  I  'm  glad  o't.  I  don't  like  having  my 
little  girl  disappointed."  He  turned  his  head 
towards  the  sunny  semicircle  of  houses  of  the 
distant  city,  "  She  '11  be  waiting  there  now  to  see 
us  come  in,  die  Dio  la  benedica  /" 

Dino,  too,  was  secretly  preoccupied  with  the 
prospect  of  that  approaching  meeting.  He  was 
the  first  to  see  her  as  they  ran  the  long  oars  out 
to  pull  the  boat  in  across  the  smooth  water  of  the 
inner  port.  He  saw  her  scarlet  handkerchief,  a 
spot  of  color  a  long  way  off  beneath  the  shadow 
of  the  bridge.  She  was  standing  in  the  same 
place  as  when  he  had  last  seen  her,  and  it  was 
like  a  good  omen  that  he  should  have  been  the 
first  to  discover  her  at  that  distance. 

She  spoke  first  of  all  to  her  father,  but  as  she 
put  her  little  hand  into  his  Dino  was  exquisitely 
conscious  of  the  quick  tremor  of  joy  which  made 
her  heart  beat  at  his  touch.  There  was  irresisti- 
ble delight  in  the  mere  fact  of  being  near  her. 
And  there  was  no  lack  of  brightness  now  in  the 
face  which  turned  towards  her,  or  in  the  voice 
which  wished  her  "  Good-night !  " 

"  Until  to-morrow,  Dino,"  she  said,  following 
him  to  the  foot  of  the  stone  steps. 

"  A  domani,  car  a  !  " 

There  was  a  bright  fire  and  a  welcome  waiting 
for  him  in  the  old  room  at  home.  He  stood  be- 
fore the  blaze  talking  for  several  moments  before 


INCIDENTAL. 


145 


he  crossed  the  room  to  look  at  the  shelf  above 
the  dresser  where  the  letters  were  put. 

"  Are  you  expecting  anything  ?  There  are  no 
letters  for  you,  my  Dino  ;  no,  not  even  one  little 
letter.  Are  you  sorry  ?  Do  you  mind  ?"  Palmira 
asked,  rather  anxiously. 

He  stooped  to  kiss  her.  "  No,  little  one.  I 
was  only  looking.  I  don't  really  want  it  at  all," 
he  said  laughingly. 

It  seemed  like  another  good  omen  that  there 
should  be  no  news  from  Valdez. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

ON    THE   WAY    UP. 

THE  small  stone-paved  piazza  of  Monte  Nero  was 
crowded  with  men,  women,  and  children,  gath- 
ered together  for  the  yearly  pilgrimage  of  the 
Madonna.  On  one  side  of  the  square  a  flight  of 
stone  steps  led  up  to  the  door  of  the  church  :  the 
heavy  leather  curtain  was  rolled  up  half  its  length 
and  fastened  back  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the 
coming  procession ;  and  massive  wreaths  of 
flowers  and  fruit  swung  from  cornice  to  cornice 
above  the  open  door.  It  was  too  early  in  the 
year  as  yet  for  many  bright-colored  flowers,  but 
the  wreaths  were  white  with  the  bloom  of  the 
first  almond  trees  that  had  blossomed,  and  long 
rows  of  ripe  oranges  and  lemons,  threaded  like 
beads  upon  a  cord,  were  fastened  in  festoons 
about  the  old  gray  stones.  The  gold  and  softest 
pinky  white  looked  very  pretty  hanging  high  up 
in  the  afternoon  sunlight  above  the  heads  of  the 
people. 

It  wanted  a  good  hour  and  a  half  yet  to  the 


ON   THE    WAY   UP. 


147 


time  appointed  for  the  procession,  and  the  cafe 
which  stood  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  square, 
and  the  open-air  booths  which  clustered  about 
its  lower  end,  were  alike  full  of  eager,  laughing, 
pushing,  hungry  holiday-making  folk.  The  most 
correct  place  to  be  recognized  in  by  one's  friends 
was,  doubtless,  at  one  of  those  small  green  tables 
in  the  shade  in  front  of  the  caffcttieres;  but  for 
that  matter  there  were  people  enough  everywhere, 
people  all  over  the  place,  not  to  mention  the  two 
constant  streams,  one  ascending  and  one  return- 
ing, up  and  down,  the  worn  old  steps  of  the 
church.  These  were  composed  for  the  most  part 
of  women,  leading  small,  dressed-up  children  by 
the  hand.  The  men  were  content  to  wait  outside 
until  the  church  bell  itself  should  put  an  indispu- 
table end  to  the  little  friendly  glasses  of  bitter 
vermouth  and  the  gossip.  They  stood  about  in 
groups,  a  sunburned  hardy  lot  of  fishermen  and 
sailors,  for  the  Santissima  Madonna  of  Monte 
Nero  is  known  to  be  the  especial  friend  and 
patron  of  seafaring  men  ;  the  church  is  crowded 
with  votive  offerings,  rude  pictures  of  sinking 
barks  and  drowning  men,  and  always,  in  the 
corner,  the  glorified  vision  of  the  Virgin  descend- 
ing upon  the  waters  to  bless  and  save.  The  ceil- 
ings of  some  of  the  side  chapels  are  completely 
hidden  from  view  by  rows  of  these  representa- 
tions. 


I48  VESTIGIA. 

Monte  Nero  itself  can  hardly  be  said  to  deserve 
its  name  of  a  mountain,  being  nothing  in  fact  but 
a  high  grass-grown  hill,  rising  behind  the  city  of 
Leghorn  and  commanding  a  superb  view  of  the 
sea.  Near  the  top  the  country  presents  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  succession  of  grassy  downs,  across 
which  a  narrow  path  takes  a  short  cut  from  the 
winding  carriage-road  to  the  summit,  and  at  this 
particular  moment  Lucia  and  Italia  were  walk- 
ing hand  in  hand  along  this  pathway,  while 
Dino  followed  on  the  grass  at  Italia's  side.  The 
old  people  had  remained  in  the  carretella  with 
Palmira. 

"  I  don't  think  much  of  your  plan  of  chartering 
a  ship  to  get  out  before  the  voyage  is  half  over, 
children.  But  do  as  you  like,  ragazzi,  do  as  you 
like.  What,  you  too,  Lucia  ?  Nay,  I  gave  you 
credit  for  more  sense  than  that,  my  woman. 
You  '11  not  find  Sora  Catarina  here  getting  out  of 
a  comfortable  carriage  to  walk  up  a  devil  of  a 
hill." 

"  But  Lucia  is  perfectly  right.  Some  one  must 
go  with  Italia.  It  would  not  look  well  if  she 
were  to  be  met  walking  alone  with  a  young  man," 
interposed  Sora  Catarina  very  decidedly. 

"  E-e-h,  buon  anima  mia,  the  scandal  would 
be  bigger  than  the  sin." 

Catarina  looked  at  him  a  little  scornfully. 
"  You  were  different  once  ;  long  ago.  I  wonder 


ON   THE    WAY  UP. 


149 


if  there  is  anything  that  you  would  really  trouble 
yourself  about  now,  Andrea  ?  " 

"  Well,  there  's  my  little  girl.  There  is  n't 
much  else,  I  suppose,"  said  Drea  good-naturedly. 
"  You  know  the  saying  we  have,  we  sailors, —  a 
wide  shoe  and  a  full  belly,  and  take  the  storms 
as  they  come.  That 's  my  way  of  thinking." 

"  Ah,"  murmured  Catarina,  drawing  her  shawl 
more  closely  about  her. 

They  had  been  young  together,  these  two. 
Catarina  could  remember  a  time  when  to  be 
alone  with  her,  as  now,  would  have  been  the 
measure  of  happiness  to  the  hopeful,  ardent 
young  lover  whom  the  slow  years  had  changed 
into  this  weather-beaten  old  man.  To  a  woman's 
eyes  there  is  always  an  atmosphere  of  youth 
left  about  any  man  who  has  made  love  to  her, 
no  matter  how  the  years  have  passed  since  then. 
And  it  made  no  difference  to  her  secret  feeling 
of  reproachfulness  that  she  herself  had  perhaps 
much  to  answer  for  in  this  general  lowering  of 
Andrea's  estimate  of  life.  A  woman  betrays 
and  remembers  where  a  man  betrays  and  forgets. 
And  at  that  particular  moment  faithfulness 
seemed  to  Catarina  to  sum  up  all  the  virtues. 

In  autumn  the  morning  freshness  of  the  wood 
lingers  late  :  there  is  something  of  the  coolness 
of  the  dawn  in  the  pine  shadows  long  after  the 
fruitful  warmth  has  fallen  upon  the  fields.  And 


150  VESTIGIA. 

in  some  natures,  growing  old,  there  is  left  some- 
what of  this  same  touch  of  virginal  freshness 
and  charm.  I  think  it  is  oftenest  the  case  with 
women  who  have  been  unhappy  in  their  youth,  — 
who  have  missed  the  placid  midsummer  fruition 
of  content.  They  bear  in  their  hearts  an  eter- 
nal unsatisfied  belief  in  the  spring. 

She  looked  at  Italia  and  Dino  walking  away 
across  the  sunny  grass  slopes  :  it  seemed  not  so 
many  years  since  she  too  had  been  walking 
there,  going  on  the  same  errand  to  the  same  old 
church.  She  watched  them  with  eyes  grown 
bitter  with  a  dreary  sense  of  loss :  it  was 
like  watching  the  mocking  phantom  of  her  own 
youth. 

But  to  them  the  day  seemed  lengthening  out 
into  uncounted  hours  of  pleasure.  The  sky  was 
cloudless.  The  spring  wind  blowing  over  their 
faces  held  a  magic  of  its  own.  "  Come  and 
walk  on  the  grass,  Sora  Lucia.  Never  mind  the 
path,  —  there  is  no  place  in  the  world  like  these 
downs.  The  air  changes  as  it  blows  over  the 
grass  ;  it  is  like  some  one  breathing ;  like  a 
breath  that  comes  and  goes,"  said  Dino,  taking 
off  his  hat  and  turning  to  face  the  wind. 

"  Look  at  the  sea  now.  How  far  it  is 
below  us,"  said  Italia,  stopping  too  and  looking 
back. 

"What   a   sea-bird   it   is,"  he   said,   meeting 


ON  THE    WAY   UP.  I$i 

her  eyes  with  a  smile  of  happy  confidence. 
"  What  would  you  do  if  you  had  to  live  inland, 
Italia  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  could  not  do  it.  I  should  stifle.  I  am 
always  thirsty  where  I  cannot  hear  the  sound  of 
the  waves." 

"  How  can  you  possibly  tell  where  you  may 
have  to  \\VQ,figlia  mia?  It  is  true  one  does  not 
go  away  from  one's  own  town  if  one  can  help  it ; 
but  a  girl  before  she  is  married  is  like  a  bit  of 
thistle-down,  who  can  tell  which  way  the  wind 
will  blow  her  ? "  asked  Lucia  in  her  subdued 
voice.  She,  too,  was  dressed  for  the  festa,  and 
her  neat  black  gown  contrasted  with  the  blue 
and  scarlet  of  the  girl's  holiday  dress,  much  in 
the  same  fashion  as  her  thin  face,  with  its  un- 
varying look  of  decent  disappointment,  served  as 
a  background  for  the  young  radiance  of  the  face 
by  her  side.  "  How  can  you  tell  whom  your 
father  will  wish  you  to  marry  ?  It  might  be 
some  one  who  came  from  a  long  way  off,  —  like 
Dino's  friend,  the  Signor  Valdez,  who  lodges  in 
our  house.  He  comes  from  a  country  where 
they  do  not  speak  Italian,  for  all  he  looks  so  like 
a  Christian." 

"  I  have  not  seen  old  Valdez  lately,"  Dino 
began. 

If  he  wished  to  ask  any  questions  Lucia  spared 
him  the  trouble. 


152 


VESTIGIA. 


"  He  is  a  kind  man  that, —  the  blessed  saints 
reward  him,"  she  said,  with  a  sudden  fervor. 
"  And  to  think  how  long  it  took  us  to  find  it 
out,  —  and  the  world  is  hard  enough,  God  knows, 
without  one  shutting  one's  mouth  the  days  it 
rains  comfits.  But,  via !  we  knew  he  was  a 
stranger  from  over  sea.  What  would  you  ?  when 
he  said  '  buon  giorno '  or  ' fclicissima  notte '  as 
one  passed  him  on  the  stairs,  it  was  like  a 
bear  growling  ;  it  did  not  sound  like  real  Italian. 
Many  and  many  a  day  have  I  gone  away  to  my 
work  with  the  old  nonna  locked  in  our  room, 
and  my  heart  in  my  mouth,  not  knowing  if  it 
were  better  to  leave  her  there,  with  all  the  chil- 
dren, and  not  a  soul  to  go  near  them  in  case  of 
fire.  And  me  never  so  much  as  dreaming  of 
asking  Signer  Pietro  to  stop  sometimes  when  he 
passed  the  door  to  give  them  a  look.  Ah,  he  is 
a  good  heart,  he  is.  And  as  for  his  never  speak- 
ing, well,  there 's  evil  talking  enough  in  the 
world,  God  knows  !  a  man  can  do  worse  things 
with  his  tongue  than  keep  it  quiet.  As  for 
those  children,  they  are  fairly  bewitched ; 
there 's  that  Beppi,  he  follows  Signer  Pietro 
about  like  his  shadow.  It 's  Signer  Pietro  who 
pays  now  for  his  schooling,  and  such  a  bright 
lad  as  it  is  !  You  should  have  seen  him  the 
other  day  when  Signer  Pietro  told  him  first 
about  his  going  off  on  a  journey.  Nothing  would 


ON   THE    WAY  UP. 


153 


content  the  boy  but  bringing  back  his  geography 
book  from  the  school  to  show  the  nonna  all  the 
places." 

"  Does  —  does  Pietro  talk  of  going  away, 
then  ?  "  asked  Dino,  his  heart  beating  faster. 

"  See  that,  now  !  and  you  such  friends.  But  I 
always  knew  that  Signer  Pietro  could  keep  his 
own  counsel.  Perhaps  it 's  a  way  they  have 
over  there  in  the  countries  he  comes  from. 
Yes,  he  is  going  away.  To  Pisa  first,  and  then 
perhaps  to  Rome.  He  says  he  wants  a  holiday, 
and  no  wonder.  Cose  lunghe  diventan  serpe,  — 
drag  a  thing  out  long  enough  and  it  becomes 
like  a  snake.  And  it 's  two  years  or  more  since 
he  has  had  a  day's  outing  from  Leghorn." 

They  had  been  sitting  down  to  rest  on  the 
short  dry  turf  as  she  talked,  but  now,  as  they 
rose  to  climb  the  last  shoulder  of  the  hill,  her 
sharp  black  eyes  were  turned  scrutinizingly 
upon  Italia.  She  gave  some  slight  ejaculation 
of  surprise.  "  Vergine  Santissima  !  Italia,  you 
have  lost  your  ring,  —  your  beautiful  ring. 
What  a  misfortune !  Madonna  mia,  what  a 
misfortune  ! " 

Italia  blushed  scarlet.  "  No,  I  have  not  lost 
it.  I  cjid  not  put  it  on,"  she  answered  hurriedly. 
And  then,  after  a  moment's  consideration,  "  Old 
things  are  best,"  she  said  in  her  sweet,  full  voice; 
"  I  did  not  want  a  new  gift,  —  I  told  my  father 


154 


VESTIGIA. 


I  did  not  want  it.  He  will  keep  it  for  me,  he 
will  give  it  to  me  to  wear  when  I  am  married." 

"  And  you  will  wear  it  that  day,  my  Italia  ? " 
asked  Dino,  looking  at  her  and  speaking  in  a 
very  low  tone,  yielding  yet  this  once  more  to  the 
perilous  delight  of  saying  what  he  would  have 
said,  what  he  would  have  had  the  right  to  say,  if 
only  he  could  have  hoped  to  escape  from  all 
the  consequences  of  his  past  actions.  The  in- 
stinctive conviction  that  this  proposed  journey 
of  Valdez  was  in  some  way  connected  with  the 
disposal  of  his  own  future  gave  Dino  a  still 
more  intense  longing  to  grasp  at  present  hap- 
piness. He  knew  that  he  was  acting  ungen- 
erously;  yet,  as  the  girl' turned  her  face  shyly 
towards  him,  her  red  silk  handkerchief  tied 
about  her  head  in -peasant  fashion  made  a  soft 
shade  about  her  temples  and  her  little  ears, 
coming  down  in  front  in  a  bright  silken  fold 
across  her  low  forehead,  hiding  all  her  hair,  and 
giving  an  almost  oriental  look  to  the  dark 
straight  eyebrows  and  the  dark  lustrous  eyes. 
The  wind  and  the  sun  had  brought  a  soft  pink 
color  into  her  pale  oval-shaped  cheeks. 

She  was  really  looking  very  beautiful  as  she 
said :  "  Why  make  plans  for  the  future,  my 
Dino  ?  Surely  we  are  very  happy  ;  we  do  not 
want  things  to  .change.  The  old  things  are  the 
best.  Why,  even  this  pilgrimage  to-day,  —  one 


ON   THE    WAY  UP. 


155 


would  always  care  to  come,  of  course,  just  to 
show  the  Holy  Mother  that  one  is  grateful  — 
but  it  would  be  so  different,  it  would  be  so  sad, 
if  we  were  to  forget  the  other  years  that  went 
before.  This  is  the  happiest  year  of  them  all, 
I  know ;  yet  I  should  not  like  not  to  have  the 
memory  of  the  times  we  have  been  here  as  little 
children.  I  like  the  old  gate  there  at  the  top 
because  that  is  the  spot  where  we  have  always 
waited  ;  I  could  open  it  myself  quite  easily,  but 
I  like  to  remember  the  days  when  it  seemed  to 
me  wonderful  that  you  could  unfasten  the  lock. 
It  is  like  that  picture  of  my  father's  shipwreck, 
—  you  know,  Dino,  —  the  ex  voto  up  there  in 
the  chapel.  When  I  was  a  child  I  believed  it  had 
all  happened  exactly  like  that.  Now  I  know  it 
was  painted  by  a  man  who  has  never  even  seen 
my  father,  but  it  makes  no  difference.  I  could 
never  care  for  a  fine  new  picture  as  1  do  for  the 
old  one." 

"  Anima  mia!"  said  Dino  passionately,  bend- 
ing a  little  towards  her,  as  she  stood,  leaning 
with  folded  hands  against  the  old  wooden  gate. 
When  she  ceased  speaking  there  was  something 
almost  childlike  in  the  serene  unconcern  of  her 
face.  But  there  was  nothing  hard,  nothing  self- 
engrossed,  in  this  insouciance  of  Italia.  It  was 
merely  the  expression  of  a  nature  accustomed  to 
a  large  and  frank  acceptance  of  daily  life,  —  a 


I56  VKSTIGIA. 

genuine  indifference  to  petty  devices.  This 
fisherman's  daughter,  in  her  little  cotton  frock, 
had  something  in  her  of  the  wide-eyed  serenity 
of  an  elder  world  ;  she  had  inherited  from  her 
father  something  of  his  cordial  simplicity  —  "a 
princely  disregard  of  little  things." 

It  was  only  a  minute  or  so  before  the  carre- 
tella  overtook  them  by  the  gate  :  they  all  en- 
tered the  crowded  piazza,  together. 

The  three  women  hurried  away  to  look  after 
the  room  which  had  been  promised  them  for 
their  night's  lodging,  but  only  a  very  few  min- 
utes were  passed  before  they  too  were  back  in 
the  piazza.,  for  now  the  bells,  which  had  been 
silent  all  the  afternoon,  were  pealing  together  with 
a  short  and  merry  stroke.  The  procession  was 
about  to  begin. 

Inside  the  dusky  church  there  was  an  un- 
wonted shuffling  of  little  feet;  a  wavering  of 
lights  clutched  by  uncertain  little  hands ;  an 
anxious  movement  to  and  fro  of  black-robed 
fmti,  marshalling  and  adjusting  the  unruly  lines 
of  brown  and  flaxen  heads.  It  was  the  chil- 
dren's part  of  the  procession  ;  and  more  than 
one  woman  in  the  crowd  felt  her  heart  swell  and 
her  eyes  grow  moist  as  she  watched  them, 
poveri  angeli !  A  long  broken  line  of  small 
human  creatures,  in  brightest  holiday  dress,  and 
each  with  its  burning  taper,  following  the  great 


ON  THE    WAY  UP. 


157 


golden  Cross  as  it  passed  solemnly,  borne  on 
men's  shoulders,  out  of  the  gloomy  aisles,  out 
under  the  wreaths  of  spring  blossom,  and  down 
the  steps  into  the  warm  afternoon  light.  That 
was  perhaps  the  prettiest  sight  of  all,  as  the 
twinkling  tapers  grew  dim  in  the  sunshine. 
And  then  came  rows  of  young  white-robed  chor- 
isters, and  the  impassive  faces  of  the  officiating 
priests  ;  the  low  sunlight  burned  like  a  jewel 
upon  the  tinselled  stoles,  and  the  reds  and  pur- 
ples of  the  vestments  were  vivid  and  deep  like 
the  color  of  garden  flowers.  The  blue  cloud  of 
incense  rose  straight  up,  with  scarcely  a  waver 
above  the  bent  heads  of  the  kneeling  crowd, 
as  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  slowly  carried 
around  the  piazza.  The  afternoon  was  windless, 
and  the  people  so  hushed,  that  even  from  the 
farther  side  of  the  square  the  priests'  solemn 
chanting  was  distinctly  audible,  and  the  warn- 
ing tinkle  of  the  bell. 

The  last  to  descend  the  steps  were  a  white- 
robed  company  of  Brethren  of  the  Miserecor- 
dia,  with  masked  faces,  and  hands  hidden  away 
under  the  long  folds  of  their  garments.  They 
passed  like  a  little  company  of  the  sheeted  and 
forgotten  dead,  between  the  gay  ranks  of  the 
holiday-makers  ;  and,  as  they  emerged  from 
the  shadows,  the  bells  rang  joyously  over- 
head, a  peal  which  set  them  rocking  from  side 


I58  VESTIGIA. 

to  side,  in  a  visible  triumph,  in  the  old  open 
belfry. 

This  was  a  sign  that  the  procession  was 
ended.  There  was  a'n  instant  rush  for  the  now 
empty  church  ;  there  was  just  time  to  visit  the 
holy  pictures  before  supper,  and  if  one  had  any 
especial  prayer  to  offer,  why,  it  was  but  natural 
to  expect  a  little  prompter  attention  from  the 
saints,  who  might  easily  be  supposed  to  be 
still  looking  down  approvingly  upon  what  was 
going  on  in  their  honor. 

Drea  and  his  party  were  among  the  first  to 
re-enter  the  shadowy  portal.  There  was  scarcely 
light  enough  now  in  the  side-chapels  to  distin- 
guish any  unfamiliar  object,  but  the  old  fisher- 
man walked  straight  to  where  his  own  ex  voto 
offering  had  hung  these  many  years. 

"  Ah  !  that  was  a  night,  if  you  like  ;  that  was 
a  night  to  remember  !  " 

"  Were  you  frightened,  father  ? "  said  Italia, 
speaking  in  a  whisper,  not  to  disturb  the  people 
kneeling  all  about  them,  and  asking  the  same 
question  she  had  asked  in  this  same  place,  at 
every  recurring  festa  of  the  Blessed  Madonna, 
since  the  first  time  she  had  been  brought  there, 
a  small  wide-eyed  creature  clinging  to  her  father's 
hand. 

"  Nay,  child,  nay.  It  'ud  be  a  poor  business  if 
one's  courage  did  not  hold  fast  in  the  right  place. 


ON  THE    WAY  UP.  159 

It  'ud  be  like  fastening  one's  boat  up  with  a  rot- 
ten cable,  there  'd  be  no  depending  upon  anything 
then.  But  it  was  a  night,  that.  A  man  who 
does  n't  live  at  sea  does  n't  know  the  meaning  of 
a  prayer.  Not  that  we  had  much  time  for  speak- 
ing ;  but  it  seemed  to  come  natural  to  think  of 
the  Holy  Virgin  then, —  just  as  I  thought  of 
you,  sleeping  in  your  little  bed." 

He  looked  at  the  picture  again.  "  Ay.  We 
brought  off  the  .men  and  a  fine  bit  of  salvage  ; 
I  mind  me  how  pleased  the  old  master  was  when 
I  went  up  to  the  Villa  to  tell  him  about  it.  He 
was  in  his  bed,  I  remember,  and  he  wore  a  thing 
with  a  frill  round  his  face,  like  a  woman's  night- 
cap. He  was  finely  pleased.  Everybody  used 
to  say  he  was  going  to  leave  me  something  in 
his  will  —  something  over  and  above  my  wages 

—  as  a  sort  of  thank  you.     Your  mother  used  to 
count  upon  it,  poor  soul !  and  so  did  I  for  a  bit, 

—  I  should  have  taken  it  kindly  of  the  old  mas- 
ter, I  should,  if  he  had  remembered  it  at  the  last. 
We  knew  each  other  many  a  year." 

Dino  and  Italia  exchanged  a  meaning  glance. 

"  And  if  it  were  to  come  now,  father  ?  that 
would  be  better  still  ;  you  could  get  a  new  boat," 
she  said,  with  a  smile  of  irrepressible  pleasure. 

"  Nay,  child,  the  will  was  proven  long  ago.  If 
there  was  ever  any  money  coming  to  me  —  and 
the  old  master  used  to  say  there  was,  he  used  to 


160  VESTIGIA. 

say  so  —  it  stuck  in  the  lawyers'  hands  years  ago, 
like  a  boat  aground.  It  never  made  any  differ- 
ence in  my  way  o'  remembering  the  old  master. 
It  would  be  but  a  poor  look-out  if  one  could  servd 
the  same  master  faithfully  for  twenty  years,  — 
and  I  so  used  to  him,  knowing  just  what  he 
meant  when  he  swore  the  loudest,  —  it  'ud  be  but 
a  poor  look-out  if  it  only  meant  losing  one's  liking 
at  the  end  of  it.  'T  is  a  weak  friendship  that 's 
so  ready  to  call  for  the  blessed  sacraments  at  the 
first  little  knock  on  the  head ;  —  that 's  my  way 
o'  thinking." 

It  was  growing  dusk,  outside  as  well  as  in,  when 
they  left  the  dim  church,  with  its  smell  of  fresh 
crushed  bay-leaves  underfoot  mingling  with  the 
stale  incense  smoke,  in  a  way  which  always 
carried  Dino's  memory  back  to  very  early  days, 
when  his  father  was  still  a  trifle  undecided  about 
the  exact  relations  of  Church  and  State,  and  not 
unwilling  to  give  his  little  boy  the  treat  of  staring 
at  the  lighted  candles  of  the  festa.  The  remem- 
brance of  his  dead  father's  face  rose  vividly 
before  him,  and  he  lingered  for  an  instant  behind 
the  others  at  the  door,  looking  back. 

As  he  hurried  on  to  rejoin  Italia  old  Drea 
touched  him  on  the  shoulder.  "  The  women  will 
go  to  bed  early,  but  I  want  you  to  come  out  a  bit 
with  me  after  supper,  lad.  I  want  to  have  a  talk 
with  you,"  he  said. 


CHAPTER    X. 

BY   THE    LIGHT    OF    A    TORCH. 

THEY  came  out  of  their  lodging,  an  hour  later, 
into  the  deserted  square.  Lights  were  flaring  in 
nearly  every  window,  and  in  every  house  was  to 
be  heard  the  rattling  of  bottles  and  plates,  and 
men's  voices  calling  for  more  wine.  But  it  was 
quiet  enough  out  here,  under  the  stars,  in  the 
empty  piazza,  where  the  last  booths  were  being 
closed  for  the  night. 

They  strolled  over  to  the  lower  part  of  the 
square,  and  sat  down  upon  the  parapet  ;  Drea 
was  lighting  his  pipe. 

"  Look  here,  lad,"  he  began  abruptly.  The 
match  in  his  hand  went  out,  he  felt  for  another 
in  all  his  pockets,  swearing  the  while  at  the 
mischance. 

"  May  the  devil  fly  away  with  all  fine  clothes, 
say  I.  For  why  should  a  man  change  his 
coat  any  more  than  his  skin  ?  I  've  worn  this 
jacket  every  festa  for  the  last  twelve  years,  and 
I  never  yet  could  learn  the  trick  o'  its  inside." 

"  I  've  got  lights,"  said  Dino. 


1 62  VESTIGIA. 

"  Nay,  lad,  where  there 's  a  way  out  there  's  a 
way  in.  I  '11  not  be  beat  by  it,  thanking  you 
kindly." 

He  puffed  at  his  pipe  thoughtfully  before  he 
spoke  again. 

"  It 's  a  good  many  years  now  since  the  first 
time  I  came  up  here.  Lord,  how  the  years  go  ! 
I  mind  me  —  Your  mother  was  a  young  woman 
then,  Dino  ;  no  older  than  my  little  girl  there,  and 
I  was  a  wild  young  fellow.  Well,  well ;  it  seems 
more  than  one  lifetime  ago.  I  'm  getting  to  be 
an  old  man  now,  my  Dino.  It  gave  me  a  start 
the  other  night  to  hear  our  young  master  speak 
of  it,  but  it 's  true  enough  for  all  that." 

"  Perhaps  it  is.  But  you  never  seem  old  to 
me,  Sor  Drea." 

"  I  Ve  had  my  turn  at  it,  lad  ;  I  can't  complain. 
But  maybe  the  Captain  was  right  about  my 
settling  down  ;  maybe  he  was  right.  I  don't 
suppose  I  can  be  far  off  sixty.  The  old  master 
lived  to  be  seventy-two,  he  did  ;  but  then  he 
lived  like  a  wax  image  packed  in  cotton  wool. 
And  when  a  man's  knocking  about  day  and 
night,  why,  Death  needs  no  lantern  to  find 
him." 

He  took  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  and  looked 
at  it. 

"  There  is  n't  much  to  leave  behind  me,  lad. 
Only  the  old  boat,  and  Italia.  She  '11  miss  me, 


BY   THE  LIGHT  OF  A    TORCH.          ^3 

will  my  little  girl.  She  's  wonderful  fond  of  her 
old  father.  But  you  '11  look  after  her  ;  you  '11  be 
good  to  her,  Dino  ?  " 

There  was  no  answer. 

"  You  see,  it  is  n't  as  if  I  were  leaving  her 
to  strangers.  But  I  Ve  been  fond  o'  you,  boy, 
since  you  were  that  high ;  when  you  used  to 
come  to  play  with  her  in  the  old  boat,  and  I 
used  to  sit  and  watch  you  and  wish  I  had  a  little 
curly-headed  chap  like  you,  that  'ud  grow  up  and 
help  me  about  the  nets.  My  girl 's  a  good  girl ; 
but  a  boy  'ud  have  been  different." 

HQ  was  silent  for  a  moment ;  then  he  put  his 
pipe  back  into  his  mouth  and  gave  a  slight 
chuckle.  "  There 's  no  basket  without  its  han- 
dle ;  that 's  sure  enough.  I  Ve  got  'em  both 
now,  girl  and  boy  too.  I  was  an  old  fool  not  to 
have  thought  of  it  sooner ;  but  it 's  difficult  to 
see  that  the  children  have  grown  up,  when  you 
remember  them  so  high.  Well,  lad,  I  give  you 
joy,  I  do.  She 's  very  fond  o'  you.  There 's 
only  one  thing  I  want  to  speak  to  you  about. 
It's  all  plain  sailing  before  you  then." 

"  And  what  is  that  ? "  asked  Dino,  very 
quietly. 

His  face  was  in  shadow,  but  there  was  that 
in  his  voice  which  startled  the  old  man  with  a 
foreboding  of  coming  trouble.  He  leaned  for- 
ward, peering  anxiously  into  the  darkness. 


1 64  VESTIGIA. 

"  Eh  ?  what 's  that,  lad,  what 's  that  you  Ye 
saying  ? " 

"You  say  there  is  one  thing  you  wish  to 
speak  to  me  about  before  — '•  before  I  can  be 
affianced  to  Italia.  I  ask  you  what  it  is." 

"  Nay,  my  Dino,  I  said  nought  about  being 
affianced,  if  that's  what's  troubling  you.  \Tot 
but  what  I  could  easily  find  another  husband 
for  her  :  there  's  Maso,  now  ;  as  honest  a  lad  as 
ever  hauled  at  a  rope,  and  a  good  bit  o'  money 
too,  all  in  the  bank.  But  what  does  that  matter  ? 
I  've  never  promised  her  to  you  ;  but  it  would 
be  but  a  poor  sort  o'  friendship  that  only 
depended  upon  words.  I  've  done  more  than 
give  you  my  promise,  lad  ;  I  Ve  trusted  you,  I 
have." 

"  Good  God  !  "  said  Dino,  under  his  breath, 
looking  up  with  blank  eyes  at  the  clear  starlit 
sky  above  him. 

"  There 's  no  need  for  many  words  to  settle  it." 
He  hesitated  ;  and  then  went  on  with  sudden 
fluency  as  if  the  long  meditated  speech  were 
forcing  its  own  way  out.  "  See  here,  lad.  It 's 
not  so  much  more  than  a  week  since  you  lost 
your  place  because  o'  that  infernal  tomfoolery  of 
a  procession.  I  'm  not  casting  it  up  at  you,  my 
boy  ;  not  I.  But  there  't  is  ;  you  made  a  mis- 
take. It  might  have  been  a  worse  one,  for  you 
meant  no  harm,  and  as  things  go  it 's  all  turned 


BY  THE  LIGHT  OF  A    TORCH,          165 

out  for  the  best.  I  would  n't  have  cared  to 
marry  my  little  girl  to  a  writing  fellow,  and 
you  've  got  the  make  of  a  sailor  in  you,  lad  ;  I 
always  said  it.  When  God  Almighty  shuts  one 
door  in  an  honest  man's  face,  if  you  look  about 
you  you  '11  see  He  's  opened  another.  But  it 
might  ha'  turned  out  different." 

He  lowered  his  voice,  and  added :  "  I  don't 
blame  you,  but  I've  kept  my  ears  open,  and 
there  are  things  said  about  you  that  I  don't  like ; 
I  don't  like.  When  a  man  lets  his  net  down  to 
the  bottom  he 's  sure  to  catch  mud.  I  saw  your 
father  do  it.  He  called  himself  a  republican  too. 
You  must  give  it  up,  my  Dino." 

"  I  can't  do  that,"  said  Dino,  in  a  very  low 
voice. 

The  words  implied  so  much  to  himself  that 
he  could  scarcely  believe  in  the  reality  of  things 
—  he  felt  involved  in  the  fantastic  irony  of  a 
dream  —  when  Drea  burst  out  laughing,  good- 
naturedly. 

"  Why,  lad,  you  don't  understand  me  ?  Where 
are  your  wits  ?  I  am  speaking  Italian,  mi  pare. 
It  is  n't  to  oblige  me  I  want  you  to  give  up 
that  confounded  club  of  yours,  and  all  the  non- 
sense that  goes  with  it.  It  's  so  that  you  can 
marry  Italia.  Why,  lad,  one  would  think  that 
I  was  torturing  you  instead  of  telling  you  how 
to  marry  your  sweetheart.  You  one  o'  those 


1 66  VESTIGIA. 

damned  radical  rogues,  my  Dino,  the  little  chap 
I  taught  how  to  handle  an  oar  ?  Come,  come, 
lad,  drop  the  nonsense.  It's  being  shut  up 
between  four  walls  that  put  it  into  you,  I  '11  go 
bail.  Politics  !  Lord  bless  you  ! .  a  capful  o' 
wind  will  soon  blow  'em  out  of  you.  They  're 
like  weevils  in  a  biscuit,  they  eat  all  the  good  ; 
you  can't  get  rid  o'  them  too  quickly." 

"  Drea,  it  is  you  who  will  not  understand. 
You  are  unjust ;  you  have  always  been  unjust 
to  my  father.  But  his  ideas  are  mine.  I  will 
not  — "  he  stopped,  with  a  horrible  sense  of 
sinking  at  his  heart.  What  were  these  ideas  to 
which  he  professed  himself  so  willing  to  sacrifice 
all  the  rest  ?  But  it  was  imperatively  necessary 
to  make  Drea  understand  the  situation.  "  I 
cannot  give  up  my — my  convictions.  For 
no  reason  in  the  world.  Not  even  to  marry 
Italia." 

There  was  an  instant  of  terrible  silence. 

"  Are  you  mad,  boy  ? "  demanded  Drea,  in  a 
sort  of  subdued  growl. 

"  I  am  not  mad,"  Dino  answered. 

It  was  a  relief  to  look  forward  to  an  explosion 
of  the  old  man's  anger;  anything — anything 
rather  than  that  tone  of  affectionate  trust. 

"lam  not  mad.  I  don't  know  why  I'm  not. 
I  'm  unhappy  enough  for  that,  or  for  anything 
else,"  he  said,  wearily. 


BY  THE  LIGHT   OF  A    TORCH.          167 

"  Unhappy  —  !  " 

The  old  man  checked  himself,  breathing 
hard. 

One  of  the  last  vendors  of  cakes  and  sweet- 
meats had  gone,  leaving  his  torch  of  tarred  stick 
to  flare  itself  away  in  the  empty  piazza..  Drea 
sat  rigid,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  that  spot  of  light. 
But  he  was  too  deeply  moved  to  keep  quiet : 
the  old  habit  of  affection  was  strong  upon  him  ; 
it  was  stronger  than  his  pride.  "  I  would  not 
have  believed  it  of  you,  Dino.  But  you  '11  think 
better  of  it,  lad  ;  you  '11  think  better  of  it.  One 
thinks  that  one  has  only  to  pick  and  choose  in 
life  when  one  is  young.  When  a  boat  is  run- 
ning straight  before  the  wind  any  fool  can  steer 
her.  Later  on  you  begin  to  find  out  that  things 
have  their  own  consequences  ;  you  might  as 
well  ask  for  a  fish  without  its  bones  as  for  a  life 
without  trouble.  I  did  n't  expect  this,  though. 
If  it  were  anybody  but  you,  lad  ;  you  that  I  've 
knowed  from  a  boy." 

"I  —  I  can't  stand  this,"  said  Dino,  huskily. 

He  got  up  to  his  feet  and  walked  away  a  few 
paces.  The  old  man  followed  him. 

"  Lad  !  —  " 

He  laid  his  heavy  hand  upon  Dino's  shoulder. 
"  'T  is  easier  to  make  wounds  than  to  heal  'em.  I 
don't  want  to  be  hard  on  you,  God  knows.  I  '11 
give  you  another  chance,  lad.  Perhaps  you  've 


1 68  VESTIGIA. 

gone  too  far  with  those  scoundrels  to  break  off 
short  i'  this  way  —  without  with  your  leave  or 
by  your  leave.  Perhaps  I  was  unreasonable  to 
expect  it.  For  the  devil  shows  a  man  plain 
enough  how  to  get  into  a  mess  like  that,  but  he 
leaves  him  to  steer  his  own  way  out.  You  might 
feel  it  upon  your  honor  not  to  break  wi'  them 
without  a  word  o'  warning  ;  and  honor  's  a  deli- 
cate stuff,  if  you  handle  it  you  soil  it  in  the 
touching.  I  've  been  an  old  fool  ;  I  ought  to 
have  thought  of  all  that  sooner.  But  I  '11  give 
you  another  chance,  lad.  Look  here.  We  '11  let 
things  stay  as  they  are  for  the  present.  I 
won't  keep  you  from  seeing  her  ;  and  I  '11  give 
you  three  months'  time  to  free  yourself  from  all 
this  black  business.  Perdio  !  't  is  a  fair  offer. 
Promise  me  that  in  three  months  you  will  come 
and  ask  me  for  Italia,  and  there 's  my  hand  on  it. 
Why,  lad,  I  could  n't  have  trusted  my  little  girl 
to  any  man  but  you."  He  spoke  in  the  old 
cordial  voice  again,  with  a  cheery  ring  in  the 
brave  words. 

"  Oh  my  God,"  said  Dino,  turning  away  from 
him,  "what  am  I  to  do  to  make  this  man 
understand  ?  " 

Andrea's  arm  fell  to  his  side.  He  groaned, 
and  put  up  his  other  hand  to  his  forehead  as  if 
he  had  received  a  blow.  "It  can't  be,  lad  —  I 
tell  you  it  cant  be,"  he  said  in  a  broken  voice. 


BY  THE  LIGHT  OF  A    TORCH.         169 

A  party  of  holiday-makers  came  out  of  a  house 
at  some  distance,  crossing  the  piazza,  at  its  farther 
end.  The  women  were  laughing  and  chattering 
as  they  went  by.  A  young  man  called  loudly 
for  silence,  and  began  to  play  the  refrain  of  a 
love-song  upon  his  mandoline.  The  swift,  auda- 
cious tripping  of  the  music  came  back  to  them 
from  a  long  distance  through  the  stillness  of  the 
night,  and  then  again  all  was  quiet. 

Andrea  took  a  quick  step  forward.  He  seized 
the  blazing  remnant  of  the  torch  from  its  hole  in 
the  wall,  and  waved  it  suddenly  before  Dino's 
eyes.  The  young  man  gave  an  involuntary  start 
backwards. 

"  Oh,  don't  be  frightened,"  said  Drea,  with  an 
odd  laugh,  "  I  am  only  looking  at  your  face.  I 
feel  as  if  I  had  never  seen  it  properly.  I  want 
to  remember  the  look  of  a  man  who  cares  more 
for  the  good  opinion  of  a  pack  o'  lying  scoundrels 
than  he  cares  for  his  oldest  friends ;  a  man  who 
could  teach  my  girl  to  love  him  ;  who  could  steal 
her  heart  from  her ;  who  could  bear  to  look  on 
at  all  her  pretty  little  ways,  and  she  all  the  while 
not  knowing.  I  'm  an  old  man,  and  perhaps  I 
don't  understand,"  he  said,  with  bitter  sim- 
plicity. "  But  I  have  lived  sixty  years  in  this 
world,  and  I  've  been  honest.  I  never  betrayed 
a  trust." 

He  let  the  torch  fall  on  the  stones  between 


I/O 


VESTIGIA. 


them.  The  light  shone  full  upon  his  white 
hair. 

"  I  loved  you  like  my  son,  Dino.  I  would  not 
change  places  with  you  to-night." 

As  he  turned  away  Dino  sprang  forward  with 
some  passionate  inarticulate  ejaculation  of  des- 
pair. "  Andrea  !  —  Drea  —  don't,  don't  leave 
me  like  this.  Drea !  you  are  the  oldest,  the  best 
friend  I  'ye  ever  had  ;  you  can't  believe.  You 
must  be  mad  not  to  see  how  I  love  her  —  " 

The  old  man  half  paused,  then  shook  his  hand 
with  a  gesture  of  unbelief. 

"  If  it  had  been  anybody  but  you,  lad  —  you, 
that  I  've  knowed  from  a  boy  —  " 

He  entered  the  darkened  house,  shutting  the 
door  behind  him. 

It  had  only  taken  a  few  minutes ;  the  voices 
of  the  women  were  still  audible,  and  the  sound 
of  the  mandoline. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

LA   MORT   DANS    L'AME. 

THE  masses  of  the  downs  were  gray  and  shadowy  ; 
there  was  only  a  faint  streak  of  red  in  the  eastern 
sky,  and  the  whitened  stones  of  the  piazza  had 
that  peculiar  look  of  stillness  which  transfigures 
familiar  places  seen  at  early  dawn,  when  Dino 
came  out  of  the  house  in  which  he  had  spent  the 
night. 

The  cool  sweet  air  tasted  pleasantly  to  his 
feverish  lips  ;  he  stood  bareheaded  for  a  moment, 
drawing  in  a  long  deep  breath  of  freshness  before 
he  struck  into  the  path  which  was  to  lead  him 
back  to  Leghorn.  But  early  as  it  was,  there 
was  already  some  one  stirring  before  him.  As 
he  passed  the  church  a  slender  figure  wrapped  in 
a  dark  shawl  moved  hastily  forward  from  behind 
one  of  the  pillars,  and  a  trembling  voice  said, 
"  Dino !  " 

He  started  as  if  he  had  been  shot. 

"  Italia  !  Italia  !  you  there  —  at  this  hour !  " 

He  sprang  up  the  steps  towards  her,  and  they 
met  just  under  the  fading  wreaths  of  yesterday's 
festival. 


172 


VESTIGIA. 


They  stood  there  grasping  both  one  another's 
hands  ;  it  was  difficult  to  say  which  face  looked 
the  paler  and  more  agitated. 

"  I  wanted  to  speak  to  you,"  she  said  presently, 
without  lifting  her  eyes  to  his.  "  Sora  Catarina 
told  me  you  would  have  to  go  back  to  town  at 
daybreak  — 

"  Yes  ? "  he  said,  after  waiting  for  a  moment. 

"  I  had  something  to  say  to  you.  Because  I 
—  I  was  sitting  by  the  window  last  night, — it 
was  so  hot  in  there, —  and  I  heard  —  " 

"  You  heard  ?  " 

She  drew  her  hands  away  from  him  very 
gently. 

"  Don't  you  see,  Dino,  that  I  know  it  all  ?  I 
heard  what  you  and  my  father  said." 

He  caught  hold  of  one  of  her  hands  again,  and 
grasped  it  between  both  his  own.  "  Italia  !  —  oh, 
my  poor  child,  my  poor  little  girl,  to  think  that 
you  should  have  heard  that  !  You  know  I  did 
not  mean  to  hurt  you,  dear.  You  know,  Italia ! 
you  do  know,  that  I  love  you." 

A  wave  of  color  passed  over  her  white  cheek. 
Her  eyelids  trembled,  but  she  did  not  look  at 
him. 

"  I  heard  —  what  you  said,"  she  repeated  in  a 
very  low  voice. 

He  pressed  her  hand  more  tightly. 

"Italia  — I  —  " 


LA   MORT  DANS  DAME. 


173 


The  utter  hopelessness  of  it  all  overcame 
him ;  the  impossibility  of  explaining  anything. 
His  fingers  relaxed ;  he  turned  away  and  leaned 
against  one  of  the  rough  stone  columns.  "  You 
are  quite  right.  There  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  believe  me.  But  I  thought  you  would," 
he  said,  with  a  burst  of  passionate  despair. 

A  quiver  passed  over  her  face  as  he  released 
her  hands  ;  she  drew  them  under  her  shawl,  and 
stood  facing  him.  It  was  a  moment  of  horrible 
suffering  to  Dino  before  she  spoke. 

"  I  do  believe  you.  Please  do  not  be  un- 
happy about  that.  I  cannot  understand  it  — 
altogether  ;  but  I  do  believe  you  —  Dino,"  she 
answered  gently.  She  hesitated  a  little  in  speak- 
ing, and  her  voice  faltered  over  his  name.  She 
added  more  firmly :  "  That  is  what  I  wanted  to 
say  to  you.  Please  do  not  be  unhappy  about 
me.  My  father  —  my  father  wanted  you  to  say 
that  you  would  give  up  other  things,  things  you 
care  for,  for  my  sake.  But  I  do  not  wish  it.  I 
only  want  you  .to  do  what  is  best ;  what  will 
make  you  more  happy." 

"  Happy  !  "  echoed  Dino  with  a  groan. 

"  Yes,  Dino,  happy.  Happier  at  least  than 
you  would  have  been  if  you  —  if  you  had  not 
found  out  your  mistake  in  time.  It  was  a  mis- 
take that  you  loved  me  best,"  said  Italia  bravely, 
crushing  her  poor  little  hands  tightly  together 


VESTIGIA. 


beneath  her  shawl  ;  "  but  I  know  it  was  not 
your  fault.  I  know  you  did  not  mean  to  huil 
me." 

"  I  would  rather  —  I  would  rather  have  died 
than  hurt  you  !  Yet  I  deserve  every  word  that 
your  father  said.  I  deserve  a  thousand  times 
more.  I  had  no  right  to  speak  to  you  when  I 
did.  I  must  not  —  I  cannot  ask  you  to  marry 
me,  Italia." 

Her  head  drooped  a  little.  "  I  know  it,"  she 
said,  almost  in  a  whisper,  "and  that  is  why  I  do 
not  want  you  to  blame  yourself  for  what  has 
happened.  If  you  have  promised  things  to 
other  people  —  My  father  always  said  that  one 
must  keep  one's  word."  She  turned  her  face 
away  abruptly.  "I  am  glad  that  —  that  I  was 
not  mistaken  in  everything.  I  am  glad  to  know 
that  you  did  love  me." 

"  More  than  my  life  !  "  said  Dino,  with  a  sol- 
emn ardor.  She  looked  so  simply  noble  in  her 
sorrow,  he  could  have  knelt  before  her  as  before 
a  saint. 

She  drew  in  her  breath  sharply  with  a  half 
sob.  "That  is  what  I  wished  to  say  to  you. 
Do  not  be  troubled  when  you  think  of  me.  I 
shall  always  trust  you.  If  —  if  we  could  have 
gone  on  caring  for  one  another,  I  should  always 
have  been  your  friend  as  well  as  your  sweet- 
heart. At  least  —  whatever  other  people  claim 


LA   MORT  DANS  L'AME. 


175 


from  you  —  there  can  be  no  harm  in  my  still 
being  your  friend  ;  perhaps  it  may  make  you 
glad  sometimes  to  know  that  there  is  one  person 
who  trusts  you." 

She  let  her  hands  fall  to  her  side,  and  drew  a 
step  farther  back  with  an  action  full  of  the 
gentlest  dignity.  "  Will  you  go  now,  Dino  ?  I 
would  rather  that  you  went." 

"  I  will  go.  Will  you  not  look  at  me  once 
more,  Italia  ? " 

She  hesitated  for  a  second  or  two,  and  then, 
slowly,  she  lifted  her  large  dark  eyes.  Her 
white  face  above  the  straight  sombre  folds  of  her 
mantle  made  her  seem  like  the  pale  ghost  of  the 
radiant  Italia  of  yesterday.  His  heart  gave  a 
great  throb  of  love  and  passionate  pity. 

"  My  poor  little  girl,  how  I  have  hurt  you ! 
My  poor  little  child  !  " 

"  Don't  be  sorry, "  she  said  faintly,  her  eyes 
filling  suddenly  with  tears.  She  tried  to  smile, 
but  her  lips  only  quivered  pitifully.  She  could 
not  speak  :  she  lifted  her  arm  and  pointed  to 
the  stair. 

When  he  looked  back  she  was  kneeling  with 
clasped  hands  before  the  image  of  the  Madonna 
above  the  closed  church  door. 

The  air  was  very  fresh  and  cool.  The  early 
morning  dew  was  lying  thickly  on  the  soft 


176  VESTIGIA. 

powdery  dust  of  the  high  road,  and  on  the  short 
crisp  turf  of  the  downs.  As  Dino  reached  the  turn- 
ing in  the  path  the  first  red  light  of  the  rising  sun 
touched  the  black  belfry  above  the  church,  and 
glittered  here  and  there  on  some  of  the  higher 
windows  in  the  village.  Far  below  him,  seen 
between  the  folding  of  the  downs,  a  white  mist 
was  lying  over  the  motionless  gray  plain  of  the 
sea. 

Afterwards,  he  could  never  remember  very 
distinctly  what  he  had  done  with  himself  that 
day.  There  was  nothing  to  call  him  back  to 
Leghorn.  There  seemed  nothing  to  call  him 
back  anywhere.  Until  Valdez  should  summon 
him,  he  was  powerless  to  act :  had  he  not  com- 
mitted himself,  his  life,  his  future,  had  he  not 
delivered  it  all  over,  bound  hand  and  foot,  into 
the  inexorable  grasp  of  those  men  ?  And  what 
did  it  matter  how  or  when  it  was  disposed  of  ? 

For  the  moment,  he  felt  so  indifferent  to  all 
that  concerned  himself  that,  had  Valdez  been 
there  before  him,  he  would  not  have  asked  him 
a  single  question.  That  he  was  to  forfeit  his 
life  in  this  proposed  attempt  was  so  much  a 
foregone  conclusion  he  did  not  even  think  of  it. 
He  could  have  sworn  that  he  had  never  thought 
of  it  once  since  that  first  branding  instant  of 
revelation  ;  but  the  conviction  of  it  had  eaten 
its  way  into  him  until  it  had  become  a  part  of 


LA    MORT  DANS  L'lME. 


177 


his  slightest,  most  involuntary  action.  When  he 
spoke  of  "  next  year,"  "  next  month,"  when  he 
used  the  very  word  "  to-morrow,"  he  checked 
himself  like  a  man  on  the  verge  of  betraying  a 
secret  ;  it  seemed  to  him  so  incredible  that  he 
alone,  among  all  the  living,  breathing  creatures 
about  him,  should  stand  unobserved,  encom- 
passed by  the  very  shadow  of  death.  When  his 
mother  looked  at  him  suddenly  he  felt  that  she 
must  read  his  sentence  on  his  face.  At  times  he 
was  filled  with  a  dull  wonder  at  their  blindness  ; 
it  was  like  slowly  sinking  in  a  quicksand  while 
they  stood  near,  looking  on  with  smiling  eyes. 

Scarcely  more  than  a  week  had  passed  since 
the  blow  first  struck  him.  He  was,  as  yet, 
benumbed,  paralyzed  by  the  icy  clasp  of  the 
inevitable.  He  was  isolated  ;  cut  off  suddenly 
from  all  his  past ;  the  possibility  of  revolt  had 
not  yet  occurred  to  him  ;  the  craving  for  life, 
mere  life,  had  not  awakened  ;  all  his  experiences 
had  changed  at  the  same  moment  ;  he  had  not 
had  time  to  grow  accustomed  to  the  new  con- 
ditions, to  realize  the  inextricable,  inescapable 
claims  of  habit.  He  was  like  a  man  shipwrecked, 
and  keeping  a  precarious  footing  upon  some 
slippery  rock  in  mid-ocean  ;  his  actions,  his  pre- 
occupations, were  so  many  temporary  measures. 
He  was  engrossed  in  the  present  precisely  be- 
cause he  had  no  future. 


1 78  VESTIGIA. 

Could  he  have  been  asked,  that  is,  more  or 
less,  the  account  he  would  have  given  of  himself. 
But  in  truth,  he  did  not  realize  the  situation. 
And  how  could  he  ?  —  while  the  young  blood 
ran  easily  and  warmly  in  his  veins,  and  the 
morning  air  tasted  freshly,  and  there  was  no 
sense  of  physical  effort  in  scaling  the  steepest 
crest  of  these  hills.  The  very  fulness  of  his  life 
deceived  him.  He  thought  himself  resigned  to 
lose  all  because  he  could  not —  he  was  incapable 
of  comprehending  the  final  loss  of  anything. 
For  the  present,  his  youth,  his  sense  of  vitality, 
were  lying  dormant,  silenced  and  motionless  like 
that  sleeping  sea. 

But  indeed  he  was  not  conscious  of  himself 
this  morning.  He  walked  for  hours,  steadily, 
determinedly  ;  stopping  at  the  top  of  every  hill 
to  look  back  at  the  country  beneath  him  with 
a  blank  mechanical  stare.  He  could  never  re- 
member of  what  he  had  been  thinking,  or  if  he 
had  been  thinking  of  anything-  at  all.  There 
was  nothing  left  of  this  day  in  his  memory  but 
a  confused  recollection  of  wide  grassy  spaces 
where  the  wind  was  the  only  thing  living,  and 
the  face  of  a  shepherd  to  whom  he  spoke  about 
mid-day,  and  the  sight  of  many  fields  planted 
with  vines. 

The  man's  face  came  back  to  him,  later,  a 
vivid  and  detached  image,  like  the  fragment  of 


LA   MORT  DANS  L'AME. 


179 


a  fever  dream.  It  was  after  twelve  o'clock  when 
Dino  passed  him,  sitting  on  the  side  of  a  hill, 
eating  his  dinner  of  sour  black  bread,  with  his 
sheep  scattered  about  him,  and  his  dog  lying  at 
his  feet.  Dino  might  have  passed  without  see- 
ing him  had  it  not  been  for  the  dog,  who  started 
up,  growling.  And  then,  at  sight  of  the  bread, 
the  young  man  remembered  suddenly  that  he 
had  not  tasted  food  that  day.  The  shepherd 
had  merely  lifted  his  eyes  for  a  moment,  but 
without  speaking  or  interrupting  his  meal. 
Dino  threw  himself  on  the  sun-warmed  grass  a 
few  paces  farther  on  ;  in  the  very  action  of  lying 
down  he  realized  his  fatigue.  He  shut  his  eyes 
for  an  instant  or  two ;  then  he  said  with  some 
impatience  : 

"  Eh,  buon  uomo  !  are  you  accustomed  to  so 
many  strangers,  then,  that  you  hav'n't  a  single 
word  left  to  say  ? " 

There  was  a  perceptible  pause,  and  then,  "  Are 
you  speaking  to  me,  sir  ? "  the  man  inquired 
slowly. 

Dino  laughed. 

"  My  good  fellow,  do  you  suppose  I  am  talk- 
ing to  your  dog  ?  He  did  his  best  by  barking  ; 
do  you  think  I  expected  him  also  to  wish  me 
good  morning  ?" 

The  shepherd  looked  at  him  reflectively.  It 
was  a  strange  idea,  but  then  people  who  came 


l8o  VESTIGIA. 

from  a  distance  often  expected  strange  things 
to  happen.  He  turned  his  eyes  slowly  upon 
the  dog  ;  there  was  something  reassuringly  un- 
changeable in  the  cock  of  that  ear  and  the  accus- 
tomed wag  of  that  stumpy  tail. 

"  He  does  not  speak.  J5  un  cane"  he  re- 
marked tranquilly. 

"  And  so  am  I,  or  at  least  I  am  a  bestia,  which 
is  all  very  much  the  same  thing,  for  not  telling 
you  sooner  that  I  am  hungry.  I  am  very  hun- 
gry. I  Ve  eaten  nothing  all  day.  Will  you  give 
me  a  piece  of  your  bread  ?  " 

He  spoke  slowly  and  clearly,  and  the  familiar 
words  found  an  immediate  response.  The  man 
stooped  forward,  drew  the  long  knife  out  of  the 
leathern  sheath  which  hung  from  his  waist  under 
the  sheep-skin  cloak,  and  placing  his  loaf  of 
bread  between  his  feet  on  the  ground  before 
him,  he  cut  it  into  two  pieces.  He  handed  one 
of  them  to  Dino. 

The  young  man  looked  at  him  with  a  bright 
smile  breaking  like  light  across  his  face.  "  I 
can't  pay  you  for  it.  I  have  not  a  soldo  in  my 
pocket." 

The  man  continued  to  hold  out  the  lump  of 
bread. 

"  Ye  said  ye  was  hungry,"  he  observed  pres- 
ently, and  then,  as  Dino  took  the  loaf  with  a 
quick  "  Thank  you,"  his  countenance  brightened. 


LA   MORT  DANS  L'JME.  181 

Here  at  last  was  something  intelligible.  He 
watched  the  disappearance  of  the  black  morsel 
with  a  feeling  of  sympathy,  which  was  shared  in 
another  degree  by  the  bright-eyed  mongrel  at 
his  feet. 

When  the  last  crumb  was  finished  he  rose 
slowly  and  moved  away  a  few  paces  to  where  a 
patch  of  dark  furze  bushes  made  a  cool  hiding- 
place  for  a  small  wooden  keg  of  spring  water. 
He  brought  the  little  barrel  to  Dino  under  his 
arm,  and  held  it  for  him  with  both  hands,  while 
the  young  man  took  a  long  drink  with  his  lips 
against  the  bung-hole.  Then  the  shepherd 
drank  also,  while  his  dog  fawned  thirstily  at  his 
feet. 

"  What  good  water !  Do  you  bring  it  up  here 
with  you?  "  Dino  asked. 

The  other  nodded  his  head  affirmatively. 

"  It  comes  from  down  there.  From  the  Pa- 
drone's well  in  the  courtyard." 

"  And  who  is  the  Padrone  ?  "  Dino  questioned 
lazily.  The  food  and  drink  had  rested  him. 
He  lay  on  his  back  on  the  warm  turf  with  half- 
shut  eyes.  A  vague  soft  wind  wandered  over 
the  grass,  and  caressed  his  face  and  hair ;  all 
about  him  on  the  hill-side  was  a  small  continuous 
sound  of  tinkling  bells,  and  the  steady  crop, 
cropping  of  the  sheep.  "  Who  is  your  Padrone  ? " 
he  repeated  in  a  sleepy  voice. 


1 82  VESTIGIA. 

The  man  looked  at  him  in  a  slow  puzzled  way. 
"  Mah  !  .  .  .  &  il Padrone  nostro"  he  said  after 
a  pause. 

He  thrust  the  iron  end  of  his  long  shepherd's 
staff  into  the  .ground,  and  leaned  upon  it  with 
both  hands.  His  face  was  of  the  serious  Dan- 
tesque-Florentine  type  :  a  puritanic  face,  with 
pointed  beard  and  long  straight  black  hair.  He 
kept  his  hands  spread  out  flat,  resting  his  weight 
upon  the  palms  of  them  ;  the  finger-nails  showed 
like  white  spots  in  contrast  to  the  sun-burned 
skin. 

"  He  is  very  rich,  our  Padrone,"  he  added 
slowly,  after  a  longer  interval.  "  He  has  one 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  francs  of  his  own, 
runa  stiir  altra."  He  stared  at  the  ground  as 
if  he  saw  the  money  lying  there  in  piles :  "  Cento 
quaranta  mille  lire,  /'una  suW  a  lira"  For  fully 
half  an  hour  he  did  not  speak  again. 

Dino  lay  upon  the  grass  and  watched  him. 
An  insane  desire,  a  fantastic  whim,  born  of  no 
conceivable  reason,  prompted  him  to  inform  this 
half-brutalized  peasant  of  his  real  object  and 
intentions.  He  was  seized  with  a  wild  craving 
to  explain  it  all,  to  tell  the  shepherd  who  he 
was,  what  he  proposed  to  do,  and  how  he  —  he, 
Dino  de'  Rossi, — that  young  fellow  lying  on  his 
back  in  the  sun,  that  idler  in  a  workman's  dress, 
without  a  soldo  in  his  pocket,  was  in  very  truth 


LA   MORT  DANS  L'AME.  183 

a  messenger  of  Fate,  a  condemned  man,  the 
future  assassin  of  a  king. 

He  looked  at  the  silly  sheep  all  about  him,  at 
the  peaceful  country,  at  the  peasant's  patient 
and  serious  face.  The  grim  humor  of  the  situa- 
tion filled  him  with  a  sort  of  desperate  inhuman 
enjoyment.  He  felt  possessed  of  a  mocking 
devil.  He  opened  his  lips  to  speak,  and  then, 
quite  suddenly,  he  rolled  over  on  his  face  and 
lay  there  motionless  for  many  minutes,  with  his 
head  buried  in  his  arms.  He  was  asking  himself 
if  he  were  going  mad. 

Presently  he  rose  to  his  feet.  Before  leaving 
he  thrust  his  hand  into  the  pocket  of  his  coat 
and  brought  out  a  handful  of  cigars. 

"  Take  these,  my  good  fellow.  I  wish  I  had 
something  else  to  give  you.  But  if  you  cut 
them  up  with  your  knife  you  can  smoke  the 
tobacco  in  that  pipe  of  yours." 

The  shepherd  put  out  his  hand,  examined  the 
gift  deliberately,  then  thrust  it  inside  his  jacket 
without  speaking. 

"Addio,  buori  ^^omo" 

"Addiot" 

When  Dino  had  got  a  dozen  paces  off  the 
other  man  moved,  and  called  upon  him  to  stop. 

"  Well,  what  is  it  ?  " 

"  Grazie,  sapete!"  the  shepherd  said,  and  held 
up  one  of  the  cigars.  Dino  waved  his  hand  in 
recognition. 


1 84  VESTIGIA. 

"Addio,  Signore!" 

"  Addio  !  " 

The  moment  that  spot  where  he  had  tasted 
human  companionship  was  hidden  from  him  by 
a  folding  of  the  hill,  instantly,  the  old  spell  was 
upon  him.  But  he  walked  less  quickly  now 
than  in  the  morning ;  the  recollection  of  Drea's 
words  was  farther  away ;  the  thought  of  Italia 
oppressed  his  heart  with  a  sort  of  physical  pain  ; 
he  could  feel  it;  but  the  first  unbearable  moment 
of  anguish  was  over,  there  was  a  certain  languor 
of  exhaustion  mingling  with  all  his  sensations. 

About  six  o'clock  he  found  himself  near  the 
path  by  which  they  had  crossed  the  field  on  the 
way  to  the  pilgrimage  yesterday.  Some  instinct 
told  him  that  Italia  would  not  pass  that  way 
again.  He  followed  the  track  to  the  edge  of 
the  high  road.  There  was  a  plantation  of  young 
grape-vines  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  high- 
way ;  he  crossed  over  and  lay  down  among  the 
long  weeds  and  grass  at  the  bottom  of  the  dry 
ditch. 

He  had  not  long  to  wait.  Two  or  three  vehi- 
cles passed  him,  cabs  from  Leghorn,  and  open 
carts,  all  crowded  with  the  returning  holiday- 
makers,  and  presently  —  here  they  were! 

He  saw  Drea  first ;  the  old  man  sat  in  front 
beside  the  driver,  his  woollen  cap  was  pulled 
down  over  his  eyes ;  he  looked  neither  to  right 


LA   MORT  DANS  VlME.  ^5 

nor  left.  The  women  were  talking,  Lucia  hold- 
ing a  large  green  umbrella  over  them  as  if  to 
shield  them  from  the  dust.  Palmira  was  sitting 
at  the  back,  her  head  resting  against  Italia's 
shoulder.  The  child  said  something,  and  as 
they  passed  Dino  saw  Italia  turn  her  dear  pale 
face  to  answer  ;  —  he  saw  her  smile. 

There  was  something  in  the  action,  in  the 
mere  fact  of  her  smiling,  which  made  him  real- 
ize as  never  before  all  that  her  sweet  love  might 
have  meant  to  him.  He  saw  the  detail  of  the 
coming  years.  Beyond  the  grief  and  the  shock 
which  he  knew  his  end  would  bring  to  her,  he 
looked  forward  ;  he  saw  her  going  on  with  life, 
growing  older,  growing  happy  again,  —  a  new 
happiness,  in  which  the  old  days  had  no  share. 
The  thought  of  Italia  living  without  him  ;  the 
vision  of  long  days  in  summer  when  the  sky 
would  be  as  blue  to  her  and  the  wind  as  sweet 
as  in  the  past  summers  which  had  been  theirs  ; 
the  prophetic  knowledge  of  what  must  be,  of 
what  would  be,  pressed  slowly  and  heavily  upon 
him,  a  horror  of  great  darkness.  Curiously 
enough,  what  he  regretted  most,  what  filled  him 
with  the  most  passionate  sense  of  isolation  and 
loss,  were  the  very  slightest  details  of  life ;  the 
small  familiar  interests,  the  old  childish  remem- 
brances, and  little  customs,  and  the  young  com- 
panionship of  foolish  joyous  laughter.  It  all 


!86  VESTIGIA. 

seemed  so  dear,  so  Hying  to  him  now.  And  he 
too  was  so  young. 

Poor  Dino  !  He  sat  there,  twisting  the  long, 
tough  weeds  between  his  fingers  without  even 
seeing  them,  until  the  sound  of  approaching 
voices  startled  him.  He  looked  up.  There 
were  two  men  walking  among  the  vines,  exam- 
ining the  fresh  shoots.  One  was  a  laborer,  the 
other  a  fat  Tuscan  propridtaire,  dressed  in  a  sort 
of  loose  gray  jacket,  like  a  dressing-gown  ;  he 
had  a  gray  cap  on  his  head,  and  wore  spectacles. 

Dino  watched  him  idly  for  a  moment,  the 
idea  passing  through  his  mind  that  this  was 
probably  the  rich  Padrone  of  the  sheep  he  had 
left  behind  him  on  the  hill-side. 

After  a  while  the  men  moved  away,  and  then 
the  silence  became  unbearable.  Dino  felt  that 
he  ought  to  be  going  back  to  Leghorn,  he  felt 
the  claim  of  Sora  Catarina's  anxiety ;  but  he 
could  not  decide  to  go  back  among  all  those 
people,  who  knew  him  and  who  would  speak  to 
him. 

He  crossed  over  the  field  again,  and  strolled 
off  to  the  edge  of  the  down.  The  moon  was 
rising  above  the  sea.  Presently  it  appeared 
over  the  edge  of  the  great  grassy  slope,  white, 
spent,  a  visionary  thing.  The  luminous  sky 
was  still  full  of  a  pink  glow  in  the  west ;  behind 
this  ghostly  visitant  it  had  turned  to  an  opaque 


LA   MORT  DANS  VAME. 


IS7 


blue.  The  great  shoulder  of  the  hill  made  a  gray 
surface  of  foreground. 

Little  by  little  the  color  came  creeping  back 
into  the  grass,  the  moon  grew  metallic  in  tex- 
ture, first  golden,  then  of  a  coppery  red  ;  the 
down  immediately  beneath  it  telling  in  this  half 
light  as  a  mass  of  green  washed  with  bronze. 
Here  and  there  the  deep  shadow  of  a  patch 
of  gorse  made  a  fantastically-shaped  spot  of 
darkness  upon  the  turf.  The  quick  flight  of 
a  whirring  insect  was  distinctly  audible  in  this 
still  air ;  now  and  then,  from  very  far  off, 
sounded  the  cry  of  some  belated  bird. 

Over  moving  water  the  moon  may  be  an  en- 
chantress, a  weaver  of  potent  spells,  but  it  is  on 
the  downs  she  dominates — the  still  mistress  of 
the  night,  of  the  lonely  empty  country  and  the 
lonely  empty  sky. 

Yet  Dino  noted  nothing  of  the  beauty  around 
him.  He  was  not  in  despair  now,  he  was  not 
even  suffering  ;  he  was  worn  out,  inert,  it  was 
as  if  the  apathy  of  death  had  fallen  upon  his 
soul. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CHOOSING. 

FOUR  days  later  the  Marchese  Gaspare  was  on 
his  way  to  Andrea's  boat-house. 

There  was  no  brighter  appearance  in  the 
street  that  day  than  the  countenance  of  this 
young  soldier  as  he  walked  briskly  along,  with 
alert  glances,  his  head  well  up,  and  his  mind 
full  of  pleasant  thoughts,  which  every  now  and 
then  made  his  handsome  face  flush  with  an 
unconscious  gleam  of  interest  and  amusement. 
Life  was  full  of  interesting  things  to  Gasparo  — 
and  flattering  things  as  well.  Only  this  morn- 
ing he  had  heard  from  the  Colonel  of  his  regi- 
ment that  he  had  been  selected  to  act  as  one  of 
the  King's  body-guard  on  the  occasion  of  the 
approaching  review  at  Rome.  He  had  the  let- 
ter now  in  his  pocket.  His  mother,  too,  had 
been  unexpectedly  generous  of  late  in  the  matter 
of  supplies  ;  at  the  present  moment  he  had  quite 
a  little  stock  of  crisp  bank-notes  carefully  stowed 
away  in  that  inner  pocket.  Altogether  he  felt 
himself  in  a  brilliant  and  successful  vein  of 
luck. 


CHOOSING. 


It  seemed  almost  a  pity  that  so  much  confi- 
dent good-humor  should  be  exposed  to  any  un- 
welcome shock  or  jar,  and  it  was  with  a  distinct 
feeling  of  annoyance  that,  as  he  turned  out  of 
the  noisy  Via  Grande  into  the  quieter  expanse 
of  the  quay,  his  quick  eyes  recognized  a  familiar 
figure  in  the  person  of  a  short,  middle-aged  man 
coming  slowly  towards  him. 

They  were  too  near  to  one  another  for  any 
affectation  of  ignorance  to  seem  possible.  Gas- 
paro  looked  sharply  up  and  down  the  street, 
then,  with  a  peremptory  nod  and  a  careless 
greeting  of  "  Well,  Valdez  !  "  attempted  to  pass 
on. 

Unfortunately  the  driver  of  a  heavy  cart  laden 
with  white  blocks  of  Carrara  marble  had  also 
selected  that  especial  moment  in  which  to  cross 
into  one  of  the  narrower  streets.  The  road  was 
completely  blocked  by  the  unwieldy  mass  of 
stone  and  the  four  straining  white  oxen.  The 
two  men  would  be  forced  to  wait  at  the  same 
corner  ;  Gasparo  took  in  the  awkwardness  of  the 
situation  at  a  glance. 

"  I  hear  that  you  have  called  three  times  at 
my  house  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  me,"  he 
said  ;  "  I  have  no  objection  to  your  calling  there, 
not  in  the  least.  That  is  a  matter  for  you  to 
settle  with  my  servants  who  answer  the  door. 
But  if  you  have  any  hope  of  the  Contessa  Paula 


190 


VESTIGIA. 


taking  you  back  on  my  recommendation,  why, 
I  may  as  well  tell  you  now,  my  good  man,  that 
it  was  on  my  recommendation  that  you  were 
dismissed." 

"  So  I  understood  from  the  Signora  Contessa 
herself,"  Pietro  Valdez  answered  quietly;  "and 
that  is  precisely  why  I  did  myself  the  honor  to 
call  upon  you,  Marchese  Balbi.  It  interested 
me  to  know  your  reasons  for  what  you  had 
done." 

"And  pray,  what  leads  you  to  suppose  that 
I  should  think  of  giving  you  a  reason  for  what- 
ever I  may  think  fit  to  do  ?  "  Gasparo  demanded, 
with  a  short,  scornful  laugh. 

Valdez  shrugged  his  heavy  shoulders ;  he 
seemed  to  consider  that  the  question  required 
no  answer.  "  The  Signora  Contessa  Paula  had 
engaged  me  as  her  music  master  at  a  fixed  sal- 
ary for  six  months.  I  gave  her  perfect  satisfac- 
tion. It  interests  me  to  know  what  arguments 
you  used  to  secure  my  dismissal,"  he  repeated, 
with  absolute  self-command. 

"  I  might,  if  I  had  chosen,  have  told  her  that 
you  were  an  insolent  scoundrel.  As  it  happens, 
your  impertinent  republican  theories  were  quite 
sufficient.  .We  do  not  choose  to  assist  socialists 
to  live  ;  neither  I  nor  my  friends." 

Valdez  bowed  gravely.  "  That  is  what  I  wished 
to  know.  I  have  only  to  thank  you,  sir,  for  the 


CHOOSING. 


191 


information."  Then  he  smiled.  "  I  did  not  know 
—  I  was  not  aware  that  you  did  me  the  honor  of 
interesting  yourself  in  my  political  convictions." 

Gaspare's  look  of  negligent  scorn  was  fast 
passing  into  an  expression  of  quicker  anger. 
He  contemplated  Valdez  in  silence  for  a  moment, 
then  he  said  sharply :  "  You  are  uncommonly 
mistaken  if  you  think  I  care  a  rap  how  you  get 
yourself  into  the  hands  of  the  police.  You  're 
safe  to  do  that  sooner  or  later.  But  I  do  mind 
about  your  leading  Dino  de'  Rossi  into  mischief. 
You  've  got  him  turned  out  of  one  place  already 
through  your  infernal  rubbishing  nonsense ;  you 
had  better  be  careful  how  you  do  it  again." 

Valdez  laughed. 

"  I  've  known  Dino  de'  Rossi  since  he  was  a 
little  chap  of  ten  years  old.  He  's  a  good  fellow 
is  Dino  ;  and  very  loyal  to  his  friends.  Will 
the  Signer  Marchese  excuse  my  suggesting  that 
it  might  be  well  if  all  Dino's  friends  were 
equally  loyal  to  him  ?  " 

"  And  what  the  devil  do  you  mean  by  that, 
sir  ?  "  said  Gasparo,  facing  around  abruptly  and 
speaking  in  a  fiercely  challenging  tone. 

"  This  is  the  direct  way  to  the  house  of  old 
Drea,  the  fisherman,  whose  daughter  is  Dino's 
sweetheart.  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
her  :  'she  is  a  very  good,  modest,  innocent  young 
girl.  But  there  are  other  boatmen  in  Leghorn, 


192 


VESTIGIA. 


Signer  Marchese  ;  men  to  whom  it  might  matter 
less  in  the  end  if  you  took  to  frequenting  their 
houses  every  day." 

"I — Perdio  !  if  I  thought  you  knew  what 
you  were  saying  —  If  I  considered  you  anything 
but  a  meddlesome  fool,  I  would  —  " 

He  raised  his  eyes,  looking  about  him  as  if  in 
search  of  some  term  strong  enough  to  express 
his  meaning,  and  it  so  chanced  that  his  gaze  fell 
upon  the  rubicund  countenance  of  our  old  ac- 
quaintance of  the  Telegraph  Office,  the  leather 
merchant,  Sor  Giovanni. 

The  first  syllables  which  the  young  Marchese 
had  spoken  in  an  angry  tone  had  reached  that 
worthy  tradesman's  ears  as  he  stood  peaceably 
behind  his  own  counter  ;  but  as  his  sense  of  won- 
der grew  great  with  what  it  fed  on,  he  had 
insensibly  edged  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  scene 
of  the  encounter,  until  there  he  stood  in  his  own 
doorway,  both  thumbs  thrust  into  the  band  of 
his  leather  apron,  his  fat  cheeks  and  glassy  eyes 
fairly  beaming  with  gratified  curiosity. 

A  very  little  thing  appealed  to  Gaspare's  light- 
hearted  sense  of  the  ridiculous.  He  burst  now 
into  a  fit  of  most  unaffected  laughter. 

When  he  recovered  himself  he  had  lost  the 
thread  of  his  discourse. 

"  You  may  be  sure  of  one  thing,  my  man  :  the 
Countess  Paula's  is  not  the  only  house  you  have 


CHOOSING. 


193 


lost  by  this  morning's  work,"  he  said  dryly  ;  and 
he  turned  on  his  heel  and  walked  away  whistling. 

"  By  my  blessed  patron,  San  Giovanni !  I 
should  not  like  to  be  in  your  shoes,  friend  Pietro," 
observed  the  fat  leather-merchant  in  an  awed 
voice,  gazing  up  the  street  with  profound  respect 
at  the  Marchese  Gasparo's  receding  figure.  "  I 
should  not  choose  to  be  in  your  shoes,  not  I.  / 
know  the  young  gentleman,  —  Livornese  born 
and  Livornese  bred.  It 's  no  joke,  let  me  tell 
you,  to  get  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  account-book 
with  a  Balbi." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Valdez,  half  impatiently  ; 
"  it 's  only  another  example  of  the  surprising 
contagion  of  folly.  There  were  not  fools  enough 
in  the  world  this  morning  apparently,  and  I  have 
taken  care  to  add  one  more  to  the  number.  'T  is 
not  a  hanging  matter  ;  that 's  the  best  one  can 
say  for  it.  And  so  good-day  to  you,  Sor 
Giovanni." 

"  Wait  a  bit,  wait  a  bit,  now,"  said  solid  Sor 
Giovanni  soothingly.  "  I  just  want  to  ask  you 
a  question  or  two  now  about  Dino  de  Rossi. 
The  Signer  Marchese  was  speaking  about  young 
De  Rossi,  eh  !  eh!  I  have  sharp  ears, friend  Pietro, 
and  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  talk  of  our 
Dino's  falling  into  doubtful  ways.  That 's  bad, 
you  know — very  bad.  I  had  some  thought  of 
offering  him  a  place  in  my  business  once  ;  he  is 
13 


194 


VESTIGIA. 


a  good  accountant,  I  am  told,  and  would  hardly 
expect  much  of  a  salary  if  one  took  him  in  when 
he  was  under  a  cloud,  so  to  speak.  I  thought  of 
it  the  day  he  left  the  Telegraph  Office,  but  I 
waited  —  I  waited  to  make  him  the  offer.  There  's 
many  a  man  has  turned  up  his  nose  over  the 
fresh  loaf  at  breakfast-time  who  was  ready  to  say 
his  prayers  over  the  crust  at  supper.  It 's  all  a 
question  of  supply  and  demand.  One  sees  these 
things  in  the  way  of  business." 

"  Ay,  there 's  small  difficulty  in  seeing  the  duty 
one  owes  to  oneself  in  the  way  of  business,"  said 
Valdez  in  his  quiet  way. 

"E-e-eh,  friend  Pietro  !  che  volete?  Half 
the  world  is  for  sale,  and  the  other  half  in  pawn ; 
you  know  the  saying.  But  about  this  Dino,  now. 
He  is  a  friend  of  yours  ?  You  could  answer  for 
him,  eh?" 

"  I  answer  for  no  man,  my  good  Giovanni. 
And  as  for  this  young  De  Rossi ;  I  have  seen 
him,  it  is  true.  I  knew  his  father  ;  but  —  "  He 
shrugged  his  shoulders  significantly. 

"  See  there,  now  !  and  I  who  counted  upon  your 
telling  me  more  about  him  ;  for  I  know  nothing 
against  the  young  man  myself,  nothing  but  that 
he  's  a  little  over  fond  of  the  sound  of  his  own 
voice,  and  for  that  matter  he  's  young,  he 's  young. 
He  's  at  the  age  when  every  donkey  loves  his  own 
bray.  I  don't  know  any  other  harm  in  him." 


CHOOSING. 


195 


"  Harm  in  him  ?  No.  There's  no  harm  in  a 
weathercock  if  what  you  want  to  know  is  which 
way  the  wind  is  blowing,"  said  Valdez  carelessly, 
and  apparently  quite  absorbed  in  arranging  the 
heavy  folds  of  his  dark  circular  cloak  with  the 
green  lining.  In  reality  his  mind  was  full  of  a  new 
plan  for  hastening  their  journey  to  Pisa.  Clearly 
it  would  not  do  for  Dino  to  show  himself  too 
often  in  his  company. 

Meanwhile  Gasparo  was  hastening  towards 
Drea's  house,  with  just  that  amount  of  additional 
pleasure  in  the  action  as  would  naturally  follow 
on  the  sense  of  successful  opposition  to  some- 
body else's  will.  As  for  Dino,  —  Gasparo  saw 
no  necessity  of  thinking  about  Dino.  In  any 
case,  Dino  could  not  afford  to  marry,  and  even 
if  he  did,  —  for,  in  arguing  a  point  in  one's  own 
favor,  why  not  take  both  sides  of  the  question  ? 
—  even  if  he  did  marry,  there  were  other  girls  in 
Leghorn  besides  this  brown-eyed  Italia.  "  Little 
witch !  I  wonder  if  she  guesses  what  she  could 
make  me  do  when  she  looks  up  at  me  with  that 
innocent  baby  face  of  hers  ? "  He  sauntered 
down  the  steps  with  an  expression  of  deepening 
enjoyment,  a  glance  of  expectation. 

She  was  sitting  in  the  old  place,  by  the  cor- 
ner of  the  wall.  Her  sad  face  brightened  a  little 
as  she  looked  up  at  the  sound  of  footsteps 
and  saw  the  young  Marchese  approaching  her. 


196  VESTIGIA. 

She  rose  instantly,  but  she  waited  for  him  to 
speak. 

"My  little  Italia!  you  look  very  pale.  What 
is  the  matter  ?  Has  anything  been  troubling 
you  ? " 

"  I  am  quite  well,  sir,  thank  you.  I  am  only 
tired." 

"  And  what  has  been  tiring  you,  then  ?  Too 
much  pilgrimage,  eh  ?  Too  many  prayers  in  a 
cold  church  ;  is  that  not  so  ?  " 

He  looked  at  her  more  closely. 

"  You  are  quite  sure  the  father  has  not  been 
scolding  you  ? " 

"  Oh  no,  sir,  my  father  never  scolds  me." 

"  Because  I  have  brought  something  with  me 
to  restore  good  humor  to  a  dozen  angry  fathers. 
See  here,  little  one,"  —  it  seemed  at  first  sight  a 
curious  name  to  apply  to  that  tall,  slender  girl 
with  the  sad  eyes,  but  there  was  something  child- 
like and  unconscious  about  Ital'ia's  beauty  which 
suggested  the  use  of  caressing  diminutives  — 
"  see  !  " 

He  drew  a  small  fancifully  embroidered  case 
out  of  an  inner  pocket  and  opened  it  before  her. 
Inside  were  five  crisp  pink  bank-notes  of  a  hun- 
dred francs  each. 

"  There,  Italia  mia !  You  can  tell  your 
father  that  is  what  my  father  meant  to  give 
him,  —  and  the  other  two  hundred  francs 


CHOOSING. 


197 


are  for  interest.     Tell  him  he  has  not  lost  by 
waiting." 

"  Signer  Marchese  !  " 

It  was  pretty  to  see  how  the  color  flushed  all 
over  her  face  and  throat,  to  the  very  border  of 
her  scarlet  handkerchief.  "  My  father  will  be 
so  happy,  —  and  so  proud,"  she  said  shyly.  She 
did  not  dare  to  touch  the  little  portfolio  until 
he  tossed  it  gayly  into  her  apron,  and  then  she 
turned  it  over  with  a  childish  pleasure  in  the 
bright  colors  and  gilt  thread  of  the  embroidery  ; 
it  impressed  her  more  than  any  amount  of 
money. 

"  I  wonder  what  father  will  do  with  it  ?  He 
will  not  know  what  to  do.  We  were  never  rich 
before,"  she  said  at  last,  looking  up  at  the  young 
man  who  stood  before  her  with  grateful  shining 
eyes. 

Gasparo  was  watching  her  intently.  His  own 
face  flushed  and  softened  as  their  glances  met. 
He  tossed  back  his  head  with  an  air  of  bright 
decision. 

"  Should  you  like  more  money,  —  a  great  deal 
of  money,  which  would  be  all  yours  to  spend  as 
you  please  ?  Should  you  like  to  be  rich,  Italia 
mia  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,"  said  the  girl  quickly.  And  then 
she  laughed.  "  I  should  not  know  what  to  do. 
My  father  always  says  it  is  not  enough  to 


198  VESTIGIA. 

have  money,  one  must  have  brains  to  spend  it. 
And  I  should  be  miserable.  I  should  be  like 
one  of  those  ragged  little  sparrows  over  there  if 
you  put  it  in  a  fine  gold  cage.  I  should  always 
be  wanting  to  get  back  to  the  old  ways.  I  think 
even  the  smallest  bird  must  enjoy  its  wings." 

"  But  suppose  some  one  was  with  you  in  the 
cage  ?  Some  one  who  was  very  good  to  you 
and  looked  after  you  ?  Do  you  think  you  would 
not  like  it  better  then  ?  "  he  asked  in  the  gentlest 
voice.  And  then,  as  she  did  not  answer  imme- 
diately :  "  Listen,  my  Italia.  I  have  heard  some 
foolish  story  of  your  betrothal  to  that  young  De 
Rossi,  —  to  Dino,  but  it  is  not  true  ;  is  it  ?  You 
are  not  promessa ;  your  father  told  me  so  only 
the  other  day." 

He  moved  a  little  nearer,  so  that  his  hand- 
some glowing  face  was  very  close  to  hers.  He 
was  very  much  in  earnest  now ;  inclination  and 
the  sense  of  opposition  were  firing  the  old 
rebellious  Balbi  blood  ;  with  that  air  of  tender 
deference  tempering  the  bright  audacity  of  his 
presence,  he  looked  the  very  incarnation  of  per- 
suasive joy  ;  the  divine  glamour  of  success  was 
like  an  atmosphere  about  him  ;  he  carried  him- 
self with  the  compelling  confidence  of  a  young 
god  ;  —  it  was  Bacchus  wooing  Ariadne  beside 
the  rippling  sea.  "  My  Italia,  you  are  not  be- 
trothed ?  "  he  repeated  softly. 


CHOOSING. 


199 


Her  face  had  turned  very  pale:  her  lips 
quivered.  "  No." 

"  Ah,"  said  Gasparo,  drawing  in  his  breath 
quickly. 

Her  thick  dark  hair  was  loosely  twisted  into 
a  heavy  knot ;  and  pinned  back  just  above  the 
nape  of  her  neck.  One  long  waving  lock  had 
escaped  from  its  fastening,  and  lay  across  her 
shoulder.  The  young  man  looked  at  it,  and 
then  just  lifted  it  with  the  tip  of  a  ringer. 

"  One  of  my  ancestors  married  an  Infanta  of 
Spain.  But  I  am  Gasparo  Balbi ;  I  can  do  what 
1  choose,  and  nothing  can  alter  that.  A  Balbi 
does  as  he  pleases."  He  put  his  hand  against 
her  cheek  and  turned  the  averted  face  towards 
his  own,  very  gently.  "Look  at  me,  Italia. 
Don't  you  know  that  you  can  make  me  commit 
any  sort  of  folly  when  you  look  at  me  with  those 
big  eyes  of  yours  ?  My  little  Italia,  next  week 
I  shall  have  to  go  away,  back  to  Rome.  But  I 
care  too  much  for  you, — very  much  too  much, 
—  to  leave  you  as  I  found  you,  you  little  sorcer- 
ess !  Now  listen.  Before  I  go  I  want  you  to 
promise  me  that  some  day  you  will  marry  me. 
Do  you  hear,  Italia  ?  I  want  you  to  say  that 
some  day,  very  soon,  you  will  be  my  wife." 

"Oh,  no  —  no!"  she  said,  in  a  frightened 
whisper,  keeping  her  eyes  fixed  upon  him  and 
starting  back. 


200  VESTIGIA. 

"  But  I  say  —  yes ! "  repeated  Gasparo  smiling. 
Now  that  the  die  was  cast,  he  could  scarcely 
understand  how  he  had  hesitated  ;  she  was  so 
simple,  so  sweet,  so  well  worth  the  winning  — 
in  any  fashion  —  this  brown-eyed  daughter  of 
the  people. 

He  would  have  taken  her  hand,  but  she  drew 
back  and  stood  against  the  old  stone  buttress  of 
the  bridge.  Her  face  had  grown  grave  with  the 
expression  it  wore  when  she  was  singing.  She 
shrank  back,  her  two  little  sunburned  hands 
hanging  down  and  clasped  tightly  before  her. 

"  Signor  Marchese  —  " 

She  hesitated  for  an  instant,  and  her  eyelids 
dropped.  "  It  is  —  it  is  very  good  of  you  to  take 
so  much  trouble  about  me.  But  what  you  say 
is  quite  impossible.  I  could  never  marry  you, 
never.  I  am  not  a  lady,  and  I  don't  want  to  be 
rich  or  —  or  —  anything." 

Then  the  color  rushed  back  to  her  cheeks, 
and  she  lifted  her  head  and  looked  at  him  full 
in  the  face. 

"You  have  been  very  good  to  my  father, — 
and  to  me,  sir.  And  I  knew  you  when  we  were 
all  children,  so  you  will  forgive  me  if  I  take  a  lib- 
erty. I  never  should  care  for  you,  sir :  I  love 
Dino.  We  are  not  betrothed,"  —  her  eyes  filled 
with  tears,  —  "  he  can  never  marry  me  ;  and  he 
and  my  father  have  quarrelled.  Perhaps  I  shall 


CHOOSING.  201 

never  see  my  Dino  again.     But  I  do  love  him, 
—  dearly,"  she  said,  with  a  half  sob. 

When  Gasparo  had  gone  the  sobs  came  fast 
and  faster.  Life  had  suddenly  grown  full  of  con- 
fusing pain ;  it  was  bewildering.  And  Dino 
seemed  so  far  off.  She  knelt  before  her  bed,  in 
the  little  inner  chamber,  and  pressed  her  hands 
hard  before  her  face  in  the  effort  to  recall  the 
very  sound  of  his  voice  when  he  spoke  to  her. 
She  tried  to  feel  again  the  warm  strong  pressure 
of  his  hand  upon  hers.  And  she  loved  him  so  ! 
she  loved  him  so  !  the  poor  child  repeated  to 
herself  over  and  over.  How  could  he  bear  to 
leave  her  ?  how  could  he  let  anything  come 
between  his  love  and  her  ? 

But  after  a  while  the  sobs  grew  quieter :  she 
still  knelt,  gazing  straight  before  her  with  an 
expression  of  sweet  and  ardent  belief  upon  her 
tear-stained  face.  The  words  he  had  spoken  at 
the  church  door  had  come  back  to  her.  "  Yoii 
know  I  never  meant  to  hurt  you,  dear.  Italia, 
you  do  know  that  I  love  you"  She  said  them 
over  in  a  whisper,  like  a  prayer,  looking  up  at 
the  little  picture  of  the  Madonna  above  her  bed. 
No  other  words  would  come,  but  surely  our 
pitiful  Lady  of  Sorrows  would  hear  and  under- 
stand. 

She  was  not  altogether  to  be  pitied,  this  grief- 
stricken  Italia.  For  to  her,  at  least,  in  time, 


202  VESTIGIA. 

could  come  that  great  reward, — the  sense  of 
having  lived  a  faithful  life ;  in  which  the  first 
indeed  could  be  the  last ;  a  life  wherein  no  loved 
thing  has  been  forgotten,  and  memory  and  belief 
are  alike  sacred. 

When  Drea  came  home  from  his  morning's 
work  he  found  everything  in  order.  His  dinner 
was  ready  for  him  beside  the  fire.  He  ate  it  in 
silence  ;  seeming  to  take  very  little  notice  of  his 
daughter's  white  cheeks  and  heavy-lidded  eyes. 
But  as  he  sat  smoking  his  pipe  after  dinner,  he 
put  out  his  rough  hard  hand  as  she  passed  by  in 
front  of  him,  and  drew  her  down  gently  upon 
his  knee. 

"  Don't  fret,  my  little  girl ;  don't  fret  now," 
he  said  tenderly,  and  stroked  her  rufHed 
hair. 

Then  he  added  cheerfully  :  "  Come  now  !  you 
said  the  young  Padrone  was  going  to  make  me 
a  present.  Let  us  hear  about  it.  Good  Lord, 
it  must  be  a  matter  of  twenty  years  since  any 
one  has  thought  of  making  me  a  present.  —  And 
I  '11  tell  you  what,  my  girl,  it 's  full  moon  to- 
night. If  you  like,  I  will  take  you  out  in  the 
boat  with  me  when  I  go  to  look  after  the  nets. 
And  so  courage,  my  little  one,  courage  !  Lord 
bless  you !  it 's  only  in  a  storm  one  can  find  out 
who  's  a  good  sailor.  And  so  cheer  up  —  for 
what 's  an  old  father  good  for  if  it  is  n't  to  keep 


CHOOSING. 


203 


those  pretty  eyes  from  getting  red  with  crying  ? 
And  the  good  God  lets  a  man  do,  but  He 
does  n't  let  him  overdo.  He 's  no  fool,  is  Dino. 
We're  not  at  the  end  of  the  matter  yet.' 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

ON    THE    BUOY. 

THERE  was  no  difficulty  in  arranging  for  that 
journey  to  Pisa.  As  soon  as  it  was  settled  that 
they  were  to  go  by  water,  to  row  themselves  the 
fifteen  miles  of  the  old  disused  canal,  Dino 
volunteered  to  have  the  skiff  in  readiness  at  a 
moment's  notice.  "  I  want  to  be  away  from 
here.  The  sooner  we  start,  the  sooner  it's  all 
over,  the  better  pleased  I  shall  be,"  the  young 
man  insisted  impatiently. 

Ever  since  his  return  from  Monte  Nero  he 
had  done  nothing  but  urge  upon  Valdez  the 
necessity  of  some  immediate  action  ;  if  it  were 
only  to  go  on  this  trip  to  the  next  town  to 
secure  the  purchase  of  the  revolver,  at  least  that 
would  be  something  accomplished.  A  curious 
restless  gloom  had  fallen  upon  Dino's  open 
countenance.  It  was  as  if  he  could  never  quite 
free  himself  from  the  scathing  bitterness  of  old 
Andrea's  reproaches.  He  longed  for  action,  de- 
finite action,  however  distasteful.  Each  slow 
bright  day  which  passed  seemed  a  long  space  of 


ON   TEE  BUOY. 


205 


painful  suspense  until  he  stood  cleared  in  the 
old  fisherman's  eyes.  "  He  may  think  me  a 
madman  if  he  pleases.  He  can  never  think  of 
me  again  as  a  coward,"  the  young  man  told 
himself  bitterly.  Valdez  could  understand  noth- 
ing of  this  sudden  change  in  him. 

"You  puzzle  me, lad — and  you  lack  patience." 

"  Patience  ! "  repeated  Dino,  "  and  what  for, 
pray  ?  I  have  read  in  some  book  that  it  is  faith, 
and  not  prudence,  which  has  power  to  move 
mountains.  What  does  anything  else  matter  so 
long  as  we  have  the  faith  ? " 

Valdez  looked  at  him  very  gravely. 

"  You  are  sneering,  my  Dino.  And  I  find 
that,  as  a  rule,  people  who  distrust  or  deny  their 
own  emotions  are  justified  by  many  of  their 
subsequent  actions  in  the  lack  of  faith.  Don't 
do  it,  boy.  Not  to  believe  in  others,"  —  the 
old  republican's  eye  flashed,  —  "  not  to  trust  in 
others,  is  to  reduce  life  to  a  mean  habit,"  he 
said. 

They  were  sitting  in  Dino's  own  room,  and 
the  young  man's  gaze  wandered  restlessly  over 
the  walls  ;  it  seemed  as  if  he  were  trying  to 
learn  by  heart  the  position  of  each  small  famil- 
iar object. 

"  Why,  it  is  like  a  bit  of  the  old  days  back 
again,  Valdez,  to  hear  you  lecture  one  ! " 

"  Ay,  lad." 


206  VESTIGIA. 

The  elder  man  was  following  out  his  own 
train  of  thought.  "  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  be 
so  much  surprised  at  the  way  it  is  taking  hold 
of  you.  Until  one  is  two  or  three  and  twenty 
one  thinks  of  oneself:  after  that  one  is  preoc- 
cupied with  life,  its  combinations  and  its  issues. 
And  life  is  the  bigger  thing  of  the  two." 

He  stood  up  and  laid  his  sensitive,  long- 
fingered,  musician's  hand  upon  Dino's  shoulder. 
"Then  that  is  settled.  Bring  the  boat  around 
to-night ;  and  we  start  early  in  the  morning," 
he  said  slowly.  He  looked  hard  into  Dino's 
face,  and  his  lips  worked  as  if  on  the  point  of 
adding  something.  But  whatever  it  was  the 
words  remained  unspoken.  He  turned  away, 
and  a  moment  later  Dino  heard  him  wishing 
Sora  Catarina  a  grave  "  Buon  giorno  !  "  as  he 
passed  through  the  outer  room. 

Later  in  the  day  Dino  had  spoken  to  his 
mother  about  his  intention  of  absenting  himself 
for  an  expedition  of  two  or  three  days  to  Pisa. 
To  his  surprise  Sora  Catarina  made  not  the 
least  objection. 

He  postponed  telling  her  until  the  last  possi- 
ble moment,  acting  in  this  on  the  opinion  he 
had  once  heard  Drea  express  about  an  angry 
woman's  scolding.  "  When  a  woman 's  got  a 
tongue  in  her  head,  the  wise  man  never  speaks 
to  her  until  he  's  putting  his  hat  on  ;  for  it 's  no 


ON   THE  BUOY. 


207 


matter  how  hard  the  wind  blows  so  long  as  it 
blows  from  astern."  But  Catarina  had  not 
justified  this  prevision. 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  she  had  something  on 
her  mind  from  the  anxious  glances  which  she 
kept  casting  in  her  son's  direction,  but  it  was 
not  until  he  was  just  at  the  door  and  ready  to 
start  that  she  laid  down  her  knitting  resolutely, 
and  said  : 

<:  My  Dino,  do  you  think  your  mother  has 
gone  blind  ?  If  you  won't  speak,  I  must  But 
things  were  different  once.  When  you  were  a 
litte  lad,  —  it  does  n't  seem  so  long  ago  to  me 
as  to  you,  my  boy,  —  you  did  n't  wait  for  me  to 
call  you  when  you  had  hurt  yourself.  You 
were  quick  enough  in  coming  to  your  mother 
when  anything  was  paining  you  then.  And  a 
woman  loses  enough  in  seeing  her  children  grow 
too  big  for  her  arms  to  hold  'em ;  —  there  's  no 
need  of  their  hearts  outgrowing  her  as  well." 

She  spoke  in  a  plaintive  tone,  her  voice  grow- 
ing more  and  more  complaining  as  she  went  on 
with  her  remonstrance  ;  and  as  she  ended  she 
shut  her  lips  tightly  and  took  up  her  knitting 
again  with  an  injured  expression.  "  Whatever 
you  may  choose  to  say,  Dino,  your  mother  is 
not  blind." 

"  Nay,  mother,  that  is  the  last  thing  I  should 
think  of  saying.  But  what  is  it  now  ?  You 


208  VESTIGIA. 

must  not  take  fancies  in  your  head  about  me, 
mother.  I  Ve  not  been  complaining  of  anything, 
you  know." 

"  Oh,  if  it 's  a  fancy  in  my  head,  of  course 
that 's  the  end  of  it !  I  've  nothing  more  to  say ; 
if  it 's  a  fancy  that  it 's  more  than  a  week  now 
since  I  Ve  seen  you  sit  down  to  eat  your  dinner 
like  a  Christian,  as  if  you  knew  whether  the 
dish  before  you  were  boiled  beef  or  a  boiled 
bone.  And  perhaps  it's  my  fancy,  too,  those 
black  rings  under  your  eyes,  and  the  new  trick 
you  Ve  learnt  of  sighing !  "  She  threw  her 
knitting  down  upon  the  table,  and  crossed  the 
room  to  where  Dino  was  standing. 

"  My  own  boy,  do  you  think  I  can't  see  that 
you  are  breaking  your  heart  about  that  little 
girl,  that  Italia  ?  And  it 's  of  no  use,  my  Dino  : 
believe  your  old  mother  in  this.  Her  head  is 
turned  ;  she  won't  have  a  word  more  to  say  to 
you.  There 's  no  harm  in  the  girl,  but  her  head 
is  turned. " 

She  hesitated  for  a  moment,  watching  him 
anxiously.  "  Dino  !  you  know  if  I  care  for  my 
other  boy,  my  young  master,  that  I  nursed  and 
looked  after  till  I  hardly  could  tell  which  I  was 
fondest  of,  him  or  you.  But,  my  Dino,  he  goes 
too  often  to  Andrea's,  does  Gasparo.  And  that 
girl  takes  after  her  mother  —  a  poor  washy,  big- 
eyed  thing,  who  never  knew  if  her  soul  was  her 


ON   THE  BUOY. 


209 


own  to  pray  for  until  she  'd  asked  her  husband. 
And  the  girl  takes  after  her  mother." 

"You  said  once  you  would  not  speak  hardly 
of  Italia  again,  mother." 

"  I  said  once  —  I  said  once !  Santa  pazienza  ! 
it  would  be  a  fine  task  to  remember  the  things 
one  has  said  once.  And  besides,  I  'm  saying 
nothing  against  her  ;  the  Lord  keep  me  from  it. 
Girls  !  I  've  been  a  girl  myself.  And  you  know 
our  Leghorn  saying  —  when  you  want  to  marry 
a  girl  off 't  is  easy  work  doing  it  ;  with  four  rags 
and  four  tags  you  can  send  the  devil  from  one 
house  into  another.  But,  my  Dino,  listen." 
She  laid  her  hand  rather  timidly  on  the  cuff 
of  his  coat-sleeve  ;  what  she  was  going  to  say 
would  displease  him,  and  she  wanted  to  propiti- 
ate him  —  not  to  seem  as  if  she  too  were  con- 
cerned in  his  disappointment.  "  My  Dino,  at 
Monte  Nero,  we  were  speaking,  between  us 
women,  of  the  young  Marchese.  And  Lucia 
said  she  wondered  if  he  would  be  thinking  of 
marrying  soon  ;  she  's  like  all  other  old  maids  is 
Lucia ;  she  can't  see  a  man  in  the  next  street 
without  wondering  what  he  thinks  about  mar- 
riage. And  Italia  looked  up ;  you  know  that 
innocent  sort  o'  way  of  hers ;  and  '  Oh  no,'  she 
says,  '  Sora  Lucia.  Oh  no,'  she  says.  '  The 
Marchese  Gasparo  is  not  in  love  with  any  of 
those  fine  ladies  he  knows.  He  told  me  so, 
14 


210  VESTIGIA. 

only  yesterday/  says  she.  And  then  I  just 
looked  at  her.  '  And  pray  how  did  he  come  to 
be  speaking  to  you  about  anything  of  the  kind? ' 
I  asked  her.  And  perhaps  I  spoke  a  little  sharp, 
for  she  turned  very  red,  and  then  she  looked  at 
me  with  her  big  eyes  without  speaking,  as  if  I 
was  a  painted  image  of  one  of  the  blessed  saints. 
And  then  she  said,  '  He  told  me  because  he 
was  speaking  of  what  his  mother  wished  him  to 
do.'  His  mother  !  That  would  be  the  Signora 
Marchesa.  And  it 's  a  proper  thing  surely  that 
a  little  chit  like  that  should  know  more  about 
my  old  mistress  than  I  do.  Yes.  -  '  He  was 
speaking  of  what  his  mother  wished  him  to  do.' 
His  mother  indeed !  not  even  the  Signora 
Padrona,  or  the  Signora  Marchesa,  but  'his 
mother  ! ' — that  is  what  she  said." 

Dino  remained  silent. 

"Ah,"  Catarina  went  on,  merging  her  partic- 
ular grievance  in  that  general  sense  of  relief  to' 
be  found  in  indiscriminate  complaint,  "ah,  it's 
small  wonder  perhaps  that  the  young  master 
has  never  been  near  his  old  nurse,  or  given  me 
so  much  as  a  '  good  morning,'  since  the  day  he 
came  back  to  Leghorn.  And  so  fond  of  his  old 
Catarina  as  he  used  to  be !  I  remember  him 
when  he  had  the  fever  ;  not  a  spoonful  of  med- 
icine would  he  touch  if  Catarina  was  not  there 
to  give  it  to  him.  But  things  change  in  this 


ON   THE  BUOY.  211 

world,  they  do  ;  it 's  a  pity,  while  they  're  about 
it,  they  don't  sometimes  change  for  the  better. 
There  'd  be  more  change  i'  tJiat" 

Dino  smiled  faintly.  "Well,  well,  mother! 
there 's  no  good  fretting  over  what  can't  be 
helped.  Don't  worry  yourself,  that 's  the  most 
important." 

"  Ah,  don't  worry  !  that 's  a  man's  way  all  over. 
As  if  one  sent  out  to  the  market  to  buy  trouble, 
for  fear  of  not  having  enough  at  home !  But  it 's 
easy  work  telling  your  mother  not  to  worry,  Dino, 
when  she  sees  you  going  about  with  such  a  look 
on  your  face." 

"  Nay,  mother,  suppose  we  let  my  face  take 
care  of  itself."  He  mastered  his  impatience 
with  an  effort,  and  added,  "  If  you  would  only 
believe  me  you  would  not  make  yourself  so 
unhappy.  Italia  and  I  understand  one  another 
perfectly." 

"  Well,  if  that 's  what  you  and  she  call  a  per- 
fect understanding,  't  is  a  pity  you  don't  try 
mistaking  one  another  for  a  little.  It  might 
make  you  both  look  a  bit  happier.  It  was 
more  like  a  funeral,  coming  home  the  other  day, 
than  anything  else  that  /  could  give  a  name  to. 
Not  that  I  'm  ever  i'  the  right." 

Sora  Catarina  ended  with  a  stifled  sob.  She 
had  known  from  the  beginning  that  no  good 
could  come  of  speaking  of  this  matter  to  Dino. 


212  VESTIGIA. 

He  was  like  his  father  ;  he  might  act  from  im- 
pulse, but  he  would  never  change  his  purpose  for 
any  one's  asking.  And  now  that  she  had  spoken, 
it  all  happened  precisely  as  she  expected.  She 
went  on  crying  quietly,  with  a  feeling  of  having 
only  succeeded  in  verifying  her  own  lack  of 
influence. 

But  Dino  was  more  deeply  affected  than  ap- 
peared on  the  surface.  Like  a  great  many  over- 
sensitive people,  who  dread  and  foresee  pain,  he 
often  denied  its  very  existence  ;  but  the  pain 
remained.  The  idea  of  Gasparo's  growing  in- 
timacy with  Italia  haunted  him  like  an  impend- 
ing sense  of  evil.  A  wild  plan  of  warning  old 
Drea,  of  insisting  upon  seeing  and  speaking  to 
him,  began  to  assume  more  and  more  of  the 
character  of  a  resolve  in  the  young  man's  mind. 
But  if  he  went  there  to-night  Italia  would  be  at 
home  ;  he  could  not  expose  himself  to  be  insul- 
ted before  Italia ;  and  to-morrow  he  was  going 
away.  There  was  no  use  in  writing,  Drea  could 
only  read  his  own  name. 

Dino's  mind  was  full  of  these  considerations 
as  he  walked  down  to  the  Old  Port.  It  was  a 
foggy  night,  the  full  moon  just  rising  over  the 
hill-tops  shone  through  a  thick  white  veil ;  but 
his  plan  was  only  to  secure  the  boat  to-night, 
and  row  it  across  the  Port  to  the  mouth  of  the 
canal.  He  would  leave  it  moored  there  for  the 


ON  THE  BUOY. 


213 


night ;  and  he  knew  every  inch  of  the  harbor, 
the  fog  could  make  no  difference. 

It  made  this  difference,  that,  coming  out  into 
the  air  again  from  the  small  stove-heated  room 
where  he  had  been  sitting  longer  than  he  ex- 
pected, engaged  in  bargaining  with  the  owner  of 
the  boat,  the  singular  beauty  of  the  night  came 
upon  Dino  like  a  revelation. 

It  was  an  absolutely  white  night  ;  the  fog 
hung  low  above  the  water.  Overhead  the  full 
moon  shone  in  a  clear  blue  transparent  sky. 
From  the  land  the  harbor  looked  enshrouded  in 
a  clinging  cloud  ;  but  to  any  one  on  the  level  of 
the  water  the  fog  appeared  as  a  resplendent  and 
glorified  vision,  a  lower  heaven  of  luminous  vapor 
under  which  the  dark  oily-looking  sea  lay  motion- 
less, like  a  thing  asleep.  Twenty  paces  off  the 
largest  ship  in  port  only  loomed  indistinctly,  the 
merest  ghost  of  a  vessel,  dim,  shadowy,  unsub- 
stantial ;  the  red  and  green  lights  in  the  rigging 
were  indistinguishable  a  dozen  yards  away.  They 
sprang  suddenly  into  visible  existence,  piercing 
the  whiteness  like  living  jewels,  as  the  boat 
neared  the  ship's  side.  The  air  was  strangely 
sonorous;  the  faintest  sounds  —  the  laugh  of  a 
sailor  in  the  forecastle,  or  the  distant  thud  of  an 
oar  —  were  exaggerated  out  of  all  natural  propor- 
tion. .It  was  impossible  to  judge  of  distances  ; 
everything  was  white,  shining,  impalpable.  On 


214 


VESTIGIA. 


the  darkest  night  there  would  have  been  at  least 
some  gleam  of  a  signal-lantern  to  steer  by  ;  but 
this  was  like  being  lost  on  enchanted  seas  of  light. 

"  Una  nottestregata  ;  a  white  night  is  a  witch's 
night,"  said  the  sailor  lad  who  came  down  to  the 
steps  at  the  landing  to  bring  Dino  the  oars  for 
his  boat.  "  Keep  your  eyes  open,  comrade,  or 
you  '11  be  running  into  something  before  you  Ve 
time  to  sing  out  an  Ave." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  answered  Dino  cheerfully,  stepping 
into  his  skiff  and  pushing  her  off  from  shore. 

He  paddled  gently  along  ;  the  soft  moist  air 
was  pleasant  upon  his  heated  face,  and  there  was 
no  reason  for  hastening ;  until  to-morrow  there 
was  nothing  more  to  be  done.  The  strange 
appearance  of  the  night  was  so  alluring  he  felt 
tempted  to  make  a  wider  circuit  before  fastening 
up  his  boat.  He  turned  the  prow  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  outer  sea-wall,  away  from  the  ship- 
ping, just  dipping  his  oars  into  the  water  with 
a  scarcely  conscious  motion. 

He  was  rowing  in  the  direction  of  a  certain 
large  red  buoy,  upon  whose  broad  surface  he  and 
Italia  had  often  played  as  children,  when  to  be 
left  there  by  Drea  while  the  old  fisherman  went 
to  look  after  his  nets  was  to  be  left  in  possession 
of  a  wonderful  floating  island,  a  country  which 
no  one  else  claimed,  and  where  the  little  play- 
mates reigned  supreme. 


ON   THE  'BUOY. 


215 


The  place  was  so  much  associated  with  the 
thought  of  her  that,  as  he  drew  nearer,  it  was 
scarcely  strange  to  Dino  to  hear  what  seemed  a 
far-off  echo  of  Italia's  singing  ;  he  listened  to  the 
full  contralto  notes  as  if  in  a  dream.  It  was  all 
a  part  of  the  white  magic  of  the  night. 

His  boat  moved  noiselessly  forward  ;  the  round 
outline  of  the  buoy  rose  close  before  him.  The 
sound  of  the  low  singing  had  stopped  ;  but  was 
there  not  something  darker,  the  outline  of  a 
seated  figure,  upon  that  floating  surface  ? 

He  looked  hard,  standing  up  in  his  boat,  and 
of  a  sudden  all  the  dreamy  mystery  of  enchant- 
ment vanished.  This  was  no  dream,  no  phantom  ; 
it  was  Italia  herself  —  Italia !  his  Italia,  whom 
he  loved.  The  quick  blood  tingled  to  his  finger- 
tips. He  called  to  her,  and  fastened  his  boat 
alongside,  and  sprang  upon  the  buoy ;  it  was  all 
the  work  of  an  instant. 

"Italia  !  "  he  said,  "  Italia  !  Italia  !  " 

She  gave  a  little  cry,  and  started  to  her  feet, 
and  looked  at  him.  She  stretched  out  her  hands  ; 
her  heart  beat  in  wild  irregular  throbs  ;  a  con- 
traction passed  over  her  face  ;  she  did  not  know 
herself  if  she  were  laughing  or  crying. 

He  made  some  inarticulate  exclamation  and 
knelt  suddenly  at  her  feet.  Her  silken  handker- 
chief had  fallen  to  the  ground,  it  had  been  warm 
about  her  throat ;  he  covered  the  handkerchief 
with  kisses. 


2i6  VESTIGIA. 

Then  he  looked  up  at  her  as  she  stood  above 
him  steadying  herself  with  one  hand  upon  his 
shoulder.  He  held  out  his  arms,  and  she  bent 
her  head  without  speaking,  and  their  mouths  met 
in  a  kiss. 

The  movement  had  given  a  sudden  impulse  to 
their  floating  pedestal ;  it  swung  violently  for  one 
instant  from  side  to  side,  then  the  oscillations 
grew  less  rapid.  The  white  radiance  of  the  night 
seemed  to  close  more  heavily  in  about  them. 
There  was  no  sound  or  motion  but  in  the  quiet 
lapping  of  the  waves. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

BELIEVING. 

ITALIA  spoke  first. 

"  I  knew  you  would  come  back  to  me." 

"  Darling ! " 

He  kept  his  arm  about  her,  and  she  nestled 
close  against  him,  her  soft  cheek  pressed  against 
the  rough  woollen  of  his  pilot-coat. 

"  I  knew  you  would  come  back,  my  Dino.  For 
I  love  you  so.  And  the  blessed  Madonna  is  so 
very  good.  I  prayed  to  her.  I  knew  you  would 
come  back  to  me." 

She  lay  quite  still  for  a  moment ;  all  her  weight 
resting  against  his  shoulder.  Then  she  moved 
uneasily.  "  You  are  sure  it  is  you,  Dino  ?  Really 
you  ?  It  is  not  a  dream  ? " 

"  No,  dear." 

He  bent  his  head  and  covered  her  hair  with 
softest  kisses.  "  It  is  no  dream,  my  Italia.  It 
is  like  being  in  heaven." 

"  Yes."     She  sighed  with  perfect  content. 

But  presently  she  moved  a  little  away  from 
him  and  turned,  leaning  both  hands  upon  his 


2i8  VESTIGIA. 

breast.  "  Dino,  it  was  quite  true,  all  that  I  told 
you,  up  there,  at  the  church,  the  other  morning. 
That  dreadful  morning !  Dino,  when  you  went 
away  I  felt  as  if  my  heart  were  dead." 

"  My  poor  little  Italia  !  " 

"  She  is  a  very  happy  little  Italia  now.  But, 
Dino,  I  did  mean  it  then.  If  you  had  been 
obliged  not  to  give  up  all  those  things  that  father 
does  not  like  —  that  club,  you  know,  and  those 
bad  men  —  I  would  have  tried  to  bear  it,  Dino. 
I  knew  you  loved  me  all  the  same.  And  it  did 
not  matter  so  much  what  any  one  else  thought 
of  you.  /  believed  you — always.  For  you  do 
love  me,  Dino  ?  " 

He  pressed  his  lips  to  her  hair  again  without 
speaking. 

"  Dino  !  say  you  do  !  " 

"I  do  love  you,  my  Italia.  I  do  love  you. 
God  knows  how  much." 

"  Dear  Dino.  I  thought  you  knew  that  I  could 
always  be  like  a  friend  to  you,  like  your  little 
sister,  whatever  happened.  But  ah,  this  is  better  ! 
I  am  so  happy,  Dino.  And  it  is  such  a  beautiful 
world  ;  it  seemed  so  hard  to  think  that  we  were 
always  to  be  hurt  in  it,  always  apart  and  miser- 
able; and  the  happiness  all  about  us,  only  we 
shut  out  from  it,  you  and  I." 

She  raised  her  head.  "  Do  you  know,  dear,  I 
could  not  imagine  how  you  would  come  back  to 


BELIEVING. 


219 


me  ?  No  !  don't  tell  me,  you  can  tell  me  some 
other  time  ;  to-morrow,  perhaps  ;  now,  I  don't 
want  to  know.  But  I  imagined  —  I  don't  know 
why,  it  was  very  foolish  —  I  imagined  there  would 
have  to  be  all  sorts  of  talking,  explanations  first. 
It  is  so  wonderful,  Dino,  happiness  is  always  so 
much  —  so  much  —  what  shall  I  say?  so  much 
happier  than  one  can  possibly  foresee  it.  I  never 
thought  of  —  this.  And  yet  it  was  so  simple." 
She  had  slipped  one  of  her  little  hands  in  his,  and 
was  pressing  his  fingers  tightly  over  hers  with 
her  other  hand,  with  the  contented  air  of  a  happy 
child.  "  But,  do  you  know,  you  frightened  me 
when  you  first  called  out,  my  Dino  ? " 

"  Did  I  frighten  you,  Italia  ?  " 

She  lifted  her  head  quickly,  letting  his  hand 
fall.  The  suppressed  tone  of  his  voice  had 
pierced  her  heart  with  its  suggestion  of  untold 
suffering. 

"  Dino ! " 

She  held  her  face  close  to  his,  trying  to  look 
into  his  averted  eyes.  "  Dino,  you  are  unhappy 
about  something  ?  Is  it  —  Oh  !  "  —  she  shrank 
suddenly  away  from  him,  and  her  face  grew  rigid 
and  her  lips  trembled.  "  Is  it  —  my  Dino,  forgive 
me  for  saying  such  a  thing !  —  is  it  that  there 
has  been  some  mistake  —  again?  Is  it  that  — 
that  —  oh,  Dino  !  that  you  did  —  not  —  mean 
—  this?" 


220  VESTIGIA. 

The  miserable  words  dropped  out  slowly,  one 
by  one. 

Whatever  punishment  he  merited  by  his  lack 
of  generous  self-control  he  tasted  in  its  full  bit- 
terness in  that  hour.  After  what  seemed  a 
long  long  interval  of  crushing  condemning  si- 
lence she  got  up  very  quietly.  Dino  rose  to  his 
feet  at  the  same  moment.  As  the  buoy  rocked 
he  would  have  put  out  his  hand  to  steady  her, 
but  the  wild  look  of  anguish  on  her  dear  face 
held  him  motionless.  He  did  not  dare  to  touch 
her.  He  covered  his  eyes  with  his  hands. 

Presently  she  said,  "  We  cared  for  each  other 
even  when  we  were  little  children.  Perhaps 
that  is  why  it  seems  so  —  strange,  that  you 
could  do  this  to  me." 

Her  voice  began  to  tremble.  Her  fingers 
turned  cold  ;  she  held  them  clasped  tightly  to- 
gether. So  many  images,  so  many  memories  out 
of  the  past,  rushed  back  in  one  confusing  flood 
upon  her ;  she  could  find  no  words,  no  relief, 
from  pain.  All  the  bewilderment  and  the  mis- 
ery uttered  themselves  together  in  an  appeal  for 
help : 

"  Speak  to  me,  Dino  !  " 

Then  he  uncovered  his  face  and  spoke. 

"  Italia,  before  God !  until  I  met  you  here  to- 
night, by  chance,  I  never  thought  to  take  you 
in  my  arms  on  this  side  heaven.  I  cannot  tell 


BELIEVING.  221 

you  what  this  thing  is  which  has  come  between 
us.  Your  father  chooses  to  believe  that  it  is 
because  I  am  a  republican,  because  I  hold 
opinions  which  he  thinks  mad  and  wicked,  that 
I  will  not  promise  to  give  up  all  else  and  — 
marry  you.  He  thinks  that  I  have  deceived 
you  —  that  I  have  acted  basely.  Italia  "  —  he 
lifted  up  his  eyes  and  looked  at  her  —  "I  can- 
not tell  you  what  it  is  which  separates  us.  I 
cannot.  Only  —  it  would  be  better  for  you  if 
you  had  never  seen  me.  I  wish  to  God  that 
you  had  never  seen  me.  I  must  go  away  very 
soon,  away  from  Leghorn  and  the  people  I  have 
known  all  my  life.  And  I  go  away  remember- 
ing that  I  have  ruined  your  happiness.  Yet  I 
loved  you,  Italia.  I  loved  you  better  than  my 
own  soul." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence ;  then  sh£ 
spoke  very  quietly  : 

"  Dino.  My  father  remembers  when  they 
threw  an  Orsini  bomb  at  the  procession  carry- 
ing the  blessed  sacraments  out  of  the  cathedral. 
He  saw  a  priest  killed,  and  some  women  and 
children.  And  it  was  the  republicans  who  did 
it.  My  father  saw  it.  He  saw  it  done." 

"  Dear  Italia,"  said  Dino  sadly,  "  surely  you 
do  not  think  that  I  approve  of  such  an  act  ? 
There  are  bad  men  in  every  place  ;  men  who 
hide  their  own  selfishness  and  folly  under  every 


222  VESTIGIA. 

high  ideal,  and  bring  it  to  discredit.  They  are 
like  the  moths  who  feed  on  the  coverings  of  the 
holy  vessels  on  the  altar.  Whatever  I  do  with 
myself  it  shall  not  be  for  my  own  gain." 

His  voice  changed  a  little,  and  he  added, 
"  But  perhaps  you  will  not  believe  that  of  me  ? 
perhaps  you  will  never  believe  any  good  of  me 
again  ? " 

She  seemed  scarcely  to  understand  what  it 
was  he  said. 

"  Dino ! " 

She  stretched  out  both  hands  with  a  sob.  It 
was  like  the  cry  of  a  frightened  child  for  mercy. 
"  Dino,  take  me  back,  take  me  with  you.  I 
must  be  with  you.  It  does  n  't  matter  about  all 
the  rest." 

She  threw  herself  into  his  arms,  pressing  her 
cheek  against  his,  clasping  his  hands  closer 
about  her  neck  ;  speaking  in  short  hurried  sen- 
tences, her  soft  voice  broken  with  sobs. 

"  Dino  —  it  could  not  be  again,  you  know. 
The  dear  Madonna  would  not  let  you  go  away 
from  me  again.  Because,  you  know,  my  Dino, 
I  could  not  bear  it.  I  could  not.  And  no  one 
is  expected  to  do  what  is  impossible.  It  is  n't 
that  I  'm  not  willing,  Dino.  I  would  do  any- 
thing you  told  me  to,  anything.  But  if  you 
asked  me  to  lift  a  weight  that  was  too  heavy  for 
me,  I  might  want  to  do  it,  but  I  could  not  do  it,  — 


BELIEVING. 


223 


could  I  ?  I  should  not  be  strong  enough.  And 
I  am  not  strong  enough  for  this  —  I  am  not 
strong  enough." 

She  kept  her  face  buried  on  his  arm  as  if  she 
were  trying  to  hide  away  from  what  she  dreaded. 
"  Dino.  It  is  such  a  happy  world,  dear.  I  could 
be  so  happy.  See  !  even  if  you  had  to  give  up 
something,  some  ideas  that  you  care  for.  My 
father  says  all  young  men  have  ideas  about  — 
about  politics  and  all  that  —  which  they  change 
as  they  get  older.  And  even  if  you  do  not 
change.  What  does  it  matter  ?  what  does  any 
of  the  rest  of  it  matter  ?  Dino  —  ! " 

He  had  his  arm  about  her ;  he  could  feel  her 
shaking  from 'head  to  foot  with  heavy  passion- 
ate sobs. 

"  Italia,"  he  said,  "  stop  crying.  My  dear. 
My  poor,  poor  little  child.  I  can't  stand  this. 
Right  or  wrong,  I  cannot  stand  it.  It  is  too 
much  to  ask  of  me.  Valdez  may  do  what  he 
pleases,  I  — "  He  bent  his  head  and  pressed 
his  lips  fervently  upon  her  warm  loosened  hair. 
"  Italia,  I  had  promised.  I  had  sworn  to  do 
something.  But  I  break  my  oath.  Look !  I 
give  it  all  up  —  for  your  sake.  Look  at  me, 
Italia.  They  will  call  me  a  traitor,  but  I  shall 
not  have  betrayed  you." 

Poor  little  Italia  !  She  was  very  weary.  She 
could  not  speak  for  many  minutes  ;  the  choking 


224 


VESTIGIA. 


sobs  would  force  themselves  out  despite  all  her 
efforts  to  conquer  them.  She  let  herself  rest 
passively  in  his  arms,  while  he  called  her  by 
every  tender  name  he  could  devise.  But  pres- 
ently the  tears  were  fewer  ;  she  checked  herself ; 
she  lifted  up  her  head  and  looked  at  him  ;  her 
eyes  were  full  of  love,  but  the  far-away  look  in 
them  meant  even  more  than  that ;  they  were 
shining  with  the  enthusiasm  of  high  resolve. 

"  Forgive  me,  my  Dino.  I  ought  to  be 
stronger  —  I  meant  to  be  stronger.  I  meant  to 
help  you,  not  to  make  hard  things  harder  for  you 
to  bear.  Forgive  me.  I  will  not  do  it  any 
more."  She  drew  herself  gently  away  from  him, 
and  he  made  no  effort  to  detain  her.  Her  voice 
grew  steadier  as  she  went  on  speaking.  "  You 
could  not  do  that.  You  could  not  be  a  traitor. 
Not  even  for  us  to  be  happy  together.  And  it 
would  not  be  happiness,  Dino ;  there  would 
always  be  a  black  cloud  between  us  and  happi- 
ness. It  is  not  as  if  we  did  not  know  the  differ- 
ence between  faith  and  falsehood,  Dino.  We 
do  know." 

"  I  will  not,  so  help  me  God  !  I  will  not  be 
false  to  you,"  he  said  roughly. 

"  My  Dino." 

"  Italia,  why  cheat  ourselves  with  words  ? 
what  is  faith  or  falsehood  ?  what  does  it  all  mat- 
ter if  faith  means  leaving  you,  and  falsehood 


BELIEVING. 


22$ 


your  making  my  life  a  heaven  ?  I  love  you  : 
the  rest  is  nothing.  As  for  duty  —  who  knows 
what  is  duty  ?  Your  father  thinks  it  is  my  duty 
to  stay  with  you.  And  another  man  bids  me 
go.  Why  should  I  go  ?  I  promised ;  but  is 
telling  you  that  I  loved  you  no  promise  ?  does 
it  imply  nothing  ?  Do  you  tell  me  to  go  when 
I  love  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Dino,"  said  Italia  simply  ;  "  becatise  you 
love  me." 

She  took  his  clenched  hand  in  both  of  hers,  and 
smoothed  out  the  fingers  with  a  great  tenderness. 

"  Dear,  I  am  not  clever  like  you  ;  I  don't  un- 
derstand things.  But  I  believe  you.  Dino,  if 
it  were  for  another  man,  and  not  for  yourself, 
that  you  had  to  decide  this  thing — " 

He  drew  away  his  hand,  and  looked  away 
from  her  across  the  rippling  sea.  The  breeze 
was  freshening  a  little ;  there  were  long  rents  of 
darkness  overhead  where  the  fog  was  breaking, 
and  showing  the  blue  of  the  sky. 

"  Dino,"  the  persuasive  voice  went  on,  "  you 
might  deceive  yourself,  not  knowing,  but  you 
would  not  deceive  me  —  your  old  playmate  — 
your  little  sweetheart,  who  trusts  you  —  trusts 
you  against  all  the  world.  Dino,  tell  me. 
Have  you  the  right  to  break  this  promise  ? " 

"No,"  he  said  in  a  half  whisper.     Then  he 
added,  "But  I  would,  if  you  told  me  to." 
'5 


226  VESTIGIA. 

"  Yes,  Dino.     But  you  would  not  do  it  now." 

There  was  a  long  silence  between  them,  then 
he  asked  abruptly : 

"  Will  your  father  come  back  here  to  fetch  you  ? " 

"  Yes,  dear." 

She  had  been  sitting  quite  still,  watching  with 
saddest  eyes  the  dimpling  motion  of  the  water. 
But  his  speaking  seemed  to  recall  her  to  her- 
self ;  she  sighed  heavily,  and  stooping,  picked 
up  her  fallen  handkerchief,  and  knotted  it  about 
her  throat.  Then  she  pushed  her  loosened  hair 
back  from  her  temples,  smoothing  it  down  with 
the  palms  of  both  hands  in  a  way  which  was 
familiar  to  her:  he  had  watched  her  do  it  a 
hundred  times  before.  She  looked  up  at  him, 
and  their  eyes  met  in  a  long  solemn  gaze  of 
unspeakable  pity  and  love. 

After  a  moment  he  took  her  hand  in  his  very 
gently  and  raised  it  to  his  lips. 

"  My  good,  good  little  Italia." 

They  sat  in  silence,  like  two  children,  holding 
each  other's  hands. 

After  what  seemed  a  long  time  there  was  the 
sound  of  oars  in  the  distance,  and  then  the 
shadowy  outline  of  Drea's  boat.  Dino  drew  her 
gently  to  him.  "  It  is  good-by,  child  ;  God  keep 
you,"  he  said  huskily.  Their  lips  met  in  a  kiss 
which  held  the  very  passion  of  loss. 


BELIEVING. 


227 


In  another  moment  he  had  stepped  from  the 
buoy  into  his  own  boat.  He  went  to  meet 
Andrea. 

"  I  have  been  with  Italia.  If  you  like  I  will 
listen  to  anything  you  have  to  say  to  me.  But 
not  here.  I  will  follow  you  to  your  house,"  he 
said. 

He  followed  at  a  little  distance  across  the 
tranquil  bay. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

A   LAST   CHANCE. 

DREA  did  not  speak  until  they  stood  all  three  in 
the  shelter  of  the  familiar  low-ceilinged  room. 
Then  he  said,  "  I  should  like  to  be  alone  with 
Dino." 

He  waited  until  Italia  had  closed  the  door  of 
the  inner  chamber  behind  her.  He  waited, 
standing  in  the  firelight,  his  powerful  knotted 
hands  hanging  loosely  beside  him  ;  his  gray 
head  bowed  upon  his  breast.  All  the  fire  had 
gone  out  of  the  old  man  ;  he  looked  broken- 
down. 

Presently  he  spoke. 

"  I  did  not  expect  to  see  you  here  again,  but 
perhaps  it 's  as  well  — it 's  as  well." 

He  stopped,  and  fumbled  in  his  pocket  for  his 
old  pipe.  He  lighted  it  automatically,  and  there 
was  something  in  the  action  which  seemed  to 
make  him  feel  more  like  himself. 

"  I  Ve  been  troubled,  lad  ;  sore  troubled,"  he 
said,  not  looking  at  Dino,  but  staring  straight 
before  him  at  the  blazing  wood  upon  the  hearth. 


A   LAST  CHANCE. 


229 


"  Sore  troubled.  It 's  like  a  storm  out  of  a  clear 
sky.  First  you,  lad  ;  first  you,  and  then  the 
young  master.  I  counted  upon  you  to  help  me 
take  care  of  the  little  girl,  Dino." 

He  spoke  with  long  pauses  between  his  words. 

"  Your  father  was  my  friend  once,  an'  I  trusted 
him,  an'  he  betrayed  me.  I  never  told  you 
before ;  it  did  n't  seem  fair-like ;  but  he  be- 
trayed me.  He  thought  to  take  everything  for 
himself.  But  you  can't  get  happiness  i'  this 
world  without  doing  something  for  it ;  it  is  n't 
enough  to  be  willing  to  rob  others.  There' s 
no  cheap  way  o'  cheating  Heaven,  lad ;  a  man 
can't  buy  Heaven  at  half-price." 

He  sat  still  for  a  few  minutes  breathing  heav- 
ily. Then  he  rose,  and,  taking  up  the  candle, 
he  crossed  the  room,  and  unlocked  the  door  of  a 
small  cupboard,  in  which  Dino  had  always  known 
him  to  keep  his  few  valuables ;  his  certificate 
from  the  captain  of  the  shipwrecked  steamer ; 
his  dead  wife's  silver-mounted  rosary,  and  what- 
ever money  he  happened  to  possess.  He  re- 
turned holding  in  his  hand  the  embroidered 
portfolio  full  of  bank-notes  which  Gasparo  had 
left  with  Italia. 

"  Some  o'  it  has  to  be  taken  back  to  the  young 
master.  But  there's  three  hundred  francs  in 
there,  lad,  o'  my  very  own.  I  earned  it  fairly  ; 
and  the  old  master  always  meant  it  to  be  mine. 


230 


VESTIGIA. 


Three  hundred  francs  !  It 's  a  deal  o'  money 
that.  I  don't  know  as  I  ever  saw  so  much 
money  together  before." 

He  smoothed  the  folded  notes  with  eager 
trembling  ringers. 

"It's  all  yours,  lad  ;  all  of  it.  Take  it  and 
pay  off  these  men  as  have  got  the  hold  on 
you.  It's  a  deal  o'  money  that  —  three  hundred 
francs.  More  than  a  man  could  put  by  in  five 
years'  saving.  I  never  could  save  nothing  my- 
self. They  'd  do  many  things  for  that,  they 
would.  You  can  pay  'em  off  easy." 

And  then,  as  Dino  made  not  the  smallest 
movement  to  grasp  the  proffered  money,  "  Here, 
take  it,  boy,"  he  repeated,  trying  to  thrust  the 
little  roll  of  notes  into  the  young  man's  clenched 
hand.  "  Take  it ;  it  '11  be  more  than  made  up  to 
me  if  you  are  good  to  my  little  girl." 

It  was  impossible  to  make  him  understand 
that  the  money  could  make  no  difference. 

"  It 's  three  hundred  lire,  that 's  what  it  is. 
Three  hundred  lire,"  he  said  doggedly ;  "  and  I 
earned  it,  fair,  that  night  o'  the  wreck.  I  never 
thought  then  it  would  have  to  go  to  payoff 
rascals ;  but  I  'd  do  more  than  that,  I  would,  to 
please  the  little  girl." 

But  at  last  Dino's  persistent  refusal  roused 
the  old  man  to  something  more  like  anger.  "  If 
you  won't,  you  won't.  It  'ud  have  been  more 


A   LAST  CHANCE. 


231 


above-board  to  have  said  it  from  the  beginning. 
—  If  you  must  drown  yourself,  at  least  drown 
yourself  i'  the  deep  sea.  That's  my  way  o' 
thinking.  —  You  could  talk  there  all  night ;  it's 
easy  work  talking.  Colla  lingua  in  bocca  si  va  a 
Roma  —  a  man  can  get  as  far  as  Rome  if  he 
has  a  tongue  in  his  mouth.  But  it  proves 
nothing  ;  it  proves  nothing." 

He  pushed  the  bank-notes  across  the  table, 
flattening  them  out  under  his  strong  fist. 
"  There  't  is.  And  now  take  it  or  leave  it,  for 
there  't  is  before  you.  You  can  choose." 

Dino  rose  and  reached  his  hat.  "  There  are 
many  things  you  will  understand  better  later  on, 
Sor  Drea,"  he  said  simply.  Then  he  looked 
all  about  the  room.  "  I  '11  not  see  this  again. 
And  I  've  been  very  happy  here.  If  ever  the 
time  should  come  when  you  think  you  judged 
me  harshly,  you  '11  be  glad  to  remember  that, 
perhaps,  —  that  I  thanked  you  and  wished  you 
well  at  the  very  last." 

And  then  as  the  old  man  still  sat  silent,  with 
bowed  head,  "  Will  you  shake  hands  with  me 
before  I  go,  Sor  Drea  ? "  Dino  said,  coming 
nearer.  He  looked  very  noble  at  that  moment 
standing  there,  with  the  firelight  shining  full 
upon  his  young  resolute  face. 

But  Andrea  never  lifted  up  his  eyes. 

"  The  devil  teaches  a  man  how  to  do  things, 


232  VESTIGIA. 

but  not  how  to  hide  'em.  I  thought  you  was 
an  honest  lad  at  one  time,  Dino,  —  I  did,"  he 
said  bitterly;  and  let  him  go  without  another 
word. 

Drea  sat  there  for  a  long  time  after  he  heard 
that  closing  of  the  outer  door.  By  and  by  Italia 
re-entered  the  room.  She  came  and  went  softly, 
busying  herself  with  the  preparation  of  her 
father's  supper.  Presently  she  came  near  the 
fire  and  knelt  before  it,  screening  her  face  with 
her  outspread  fingers  from  the  blaze  while  she 
watched  the  boiling  water  in  the  kettle  out  of 
which  she  would  presently  make  the  coffee. 

She  was  observing  her  father  furtively  un- 
der shelter  of  her  fingers,  and  before  long  she 
turned  a  little  and  rested  her  cheek  against  his 
knee. 

"  You  must  be  tired,  father,  and  hungry. 
And  you  have  let  your  pipe  go  out ;  poor 
father ! "  she  said  in  a  deep  tone  of  loving 
anxiety. 

"  Ay,  child." 

Andrea  shifted  the  pipe  slowly  to  his  other 
hand  and  laid  his  disengaged  fingers  fondly  upon 
the  girl's  thick  hair. 

There  was  a  silence  between  them  while  the 
water  bubbled  and  hissed  upon  the  hearth.  But 
as  Italia  stooped  to  lift  the  saucepan  Drea 
checked  her.  He  said : 


A   LAST  CHANCE. 


233 


"I  've  done  what  I  could,  child ;  what  I 
could." 

"  Yes,  father." 

"His  father  was  the  same  sort  before  him. 
I  never  told  you,  but  Sora  Catarina  there,  she 
was  my  sweetheart  once,  when  we  were  all 
young  together.  And  his  father  was  my  friend, 
and  he  took  her  away  from  me.  And  I  was 
fond  of  her  then,  I  was." 

Italia  drew  his  hard  hand  down  against  her 
cheek,  and  kissed  it  softly,  without  speaking. 

"  Ay.  I  was  fond  of  her  once  —  main  fond. 
And  'twas  partly  for  that,  perhaps,  I  always 
had  a  sort  o'  fancy  for  the  lad.  I  never  could 
bear  to  be  hard  on  him.  An'  he  's  disappointed 
me.  It 's  i'  the  breed,  my  girl ;  a  bad  breed, 
and  you  can't  alter  that  with  wishing.  Y'ou 
can't  turn  a  porpoise  into  a  dolphin,  no  matter 
how  long  you  leave  him  in  the  water." 

As  still  she  made  no  answer,  he  added  more 
insistingly : 

"  I  'd  have  saved  you  from  this  if  I  could,  my 
pretty.  I  did  all  I  knew  how.  But  you  can't 
get  a  grip  on  the  anchor  when  there 's  no  bot- 
tom but  only  shifting  sand.  Faithlessness  — 
Look  here,  girl,  it 's  like  poison  in  one's  daily 
bread."  He  stroked  her  cheek  tenderly.  "  My 
girl,  it's  poison,  you  can't  live  on  it." 

Then  Italia  lifted  up  her  head. 


234 


VESTIGIA. 


"  Dino  is  not  faithless,"  she  said  gently. 

"  Girl,  no  one  believes  in  him.  Not  a  soul. 
Not  even  the  young  master  —  and  they  were 
boys  together." 

"  I  do,  I  believe  in  him,  father." 

She  knelt  with  clasped  hands  gazing  at  the 
fire,  and  all  the  ardor  and  devotion  of  her  im- 
passioned soul  sounded  in  her  soft  girlish  voice. 
For  the  moment  she  felt  superior  to  all  suffer- 
ing, uplifted  to  a  region  of  feeling  which  knows 
neither  lassitude  nor  reluctant  pain.  And  such 
love  makes  all  things  easy  ;  it  floods  dry  places ; 
it  drowns  the  slime  and  weeds.  It  is  good,  no 
doubt,  to  be  strong ;  it  is  wiser  to  be  the  master 
of  our  fortunes  than  their  slave.  The  truth  is 
obvious  enough.  But  we  are  not  all  strong, 
God  knows  ;  let  us  still  be  thankful  for  that 
divine  gift  of  pity, — tender  and  loving  pity, — 
the  heritage  of  the  outcast ;  the  last  possession 
of  the  disinherited,  of  the  unsuccessful;  who, 
owning  this,  shall  yet  know  something,  even  on 
this  earth,  of  the  very  kingdom  of  heaven. 

After  a  while  she  rose  to  her  feet ;  she  laid 
her  gentle  hand  upon  the  old  man's  shoulder. 
"  Come,  father.  Come  to  your  supper.  You  are 
so  tired,  dear  ;  you  must  let  me  take  care  of  you. 
For  the  harder  things  are,  father,  the  more  we 
will  need  each  other's  love,"  Italia  said. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

WITH    VALDEZ. 

THE  sun  was  not  more  than  half  an  hour  high  in 
the  east  when  Valdez  and  Dino  started  in  their 
boat  to  row  up  the  disused  canal  to  Pisa.  It 
was  a  mild  gray  morning.  A  pearly-tinted  si- 
rocco sky  hung  low  above  the  flat  country  be- 
yond Leghorn  ;  on  either  side  were  stretches  of 
bare  ploughed  land  ;  the  only  color  was  in  the 
thick  fringe  of  tall  yellow  reeds  which  bordered 
the  canal,  and  on  the  scarlet-stained  leaves  of 
the  water-plants  and  brambles  which  had  sur- 
vived the  winter,  hidden  deep  under  the  faded 
bents  of  last  year's  grass,  in  sheltered  nooks 
below  the  overhanging  banks. 

It  would  have  been  easy  to  tow  the  boat :  there 
was  a  narrow  path  trodden  out  along  the  margin 
by  the  feet  of  the  men  who  still  dragged  the  slow 
weight  of  their  flat-bottomed  barges,  laden  with 
barrels  of  oil  and  sacks  of  corn,  in  preference  to 
sending  the  merchandise  to  Pisa  by  the  new  line 
of  railway.  But  Dino  liked  better  the  labor  of 
rowing  against  the  sluggish  current.  The  monot- 


236  VESTIGIA. 

onous  action  soothed  him  like  the  reiteration  of 
old  words  which  carried  pleasant  memories.  He 
felt  more  himself  with  the  oars  in  his  strong 
young  hands  ;  and  the  long  regular  sweep  of  the 
blades  was  like  a  visible  sign  of  the  vigor  and 
force  of  his  determination.  About  nine  o'clock  it 
felt  very  warm  upon  the  water.  The  March  sun 
shining  behind  the  thin  gray  veil  of  mist,  filled 
the  sky  with  a  diffused  whitish  glare,  —  and  there 
was  no  escaping  it,  no  possibility  of  shadow.  By 
the  time  he  had  rowed  eight  or  ten  miles  Dino 
was  glad  enough  to  act  on  Valdez's  suggestion, 
and  run  the  boat  to  land  under  the  shelter  of 
some  drooping  alders.  They  stretched  them- 
selves out  luxuriously  on  the  short  new  grass, 
where  a  point  of  smooth  ground  projected  for  a 
few  feet  from  the  bank.  The  water  gurgled  with 
a  cool  liquid  sound  as  it  hurried  past  them,  and 
the  air  was  sweet  with  the  smell  of  bruised  herbs. 
There  was  a  tuft  of  scented  thyme  growing  by 
Dino's  feet.  He  plucked  off  a  leaf  or  two  and 
held  them  in  his  hand  while  he  said  : 

"  It  is  pleasant  being  here,  Valdez." 

"  Ay,  lad." 

"  I  like  rowing.  I  like  everything  which  im- 
plies being  out-of-doors,  —  doing  something  and 
being  no  one  in  particular.  If  I  had  to  live  over 
again,  Valdez,  I  'd  have  more  to  do  with  men  than 
books." 


WITH    VALDEZ. 


237 


"  You  may  be  right  there,  lad,  there  's  no  say- 
ing. After  all,  a  man's  persona:!  experience  is 
the  only  reality ;  the  rest  is  mere  hearsay." 

Dino  crushed  the  aromatic  herbs  closer  with- 
in his  hands,  and  rubbed  them  over  his  face. 
"  Valdez ! "  he  said  abruptly,  "  that  man  over 
there — in  Rome  —  you  know  whom  I  mean  — 
I  know  nothing  about  him  ;  he  has  done  me  no 
harm." 

"  No,  lad.  And  I  see  what  you  mean.  But 
that 's  just  the  puzzling  part  of  it —  when  things 
pull  both  ways.  But  there  must  come  a  time  in 
a  man's  life  when  he  ceases  to  ask  himself  ques- 
tions, when  he  must  give  up  even  wanting  to 
know  how  well  he  may  be  doing  the  work  that 's 
been  set  before  him,  or  else  the  work  does  n't  get 
itself  done.  For,  look  you,  lad,  in  a  way,  what  is 
absolutely  bad  is  nearly  as  satisfactory  as  what 
is  absolutely  good.  It 's  black  or  white  ;  and  a 
man  —  a  man,  I  say  —  can  understand  either. 
But  it 's  the  thing  between  —  it 's  life  —  which 
upsets  our  calculations." 

"  It 's  so  damned  hard  to  know  that,  do  what 
one  will,  one  can  never  get  any  credit  for  it.  If 
you  stake  your  life  on  any  desperate  attempt  to 
make  things  a  little  better,  people  always  imagine 
it  was  your  own  choice,  you  liked  doing  it.  They 
"don't  ask  what  it  was  that  made  you  give  up  the 
pleasantness ;  if  you  get  credit  for  anything,  it 's 


238  VESTIGIA. 

only  credit  for  a  morbid  taste  for  being 
wretched." 

"  Credit  from  society  ?  credit  for  what  you  do  ? 
why,  lad,  who  gives  credit  for  anything  now, 
except  the  tradesmen  ?  And  they  are  not  in 
society,"  said  Valdez,  with  a  short  laugh.  He 
pulled  the  brim  of  his  shabby  felt  hat  farther 
down  over  his  eyes.  "  Society  cheapens  life. 
Makes  it  full  of  small  interests,  small  triumphs, 
small,  bitter  disappointments.  I  've  been  through 
it  ;  I  've  seen  enough  of  it  in  my  day." 

"  Valdez,"  said  Dino,  looking  at  him  rather 
curiously,  "  you  must  have  been  leading  a  very 
different  sort  of  life  before  you  came  to  Leghorn  ? 
You  yourself  must  have  been  very  different  ?  " 

"  Ay,  lad,  a  different  sort  of  fool,  most  likely. 
There's  a  variety  in  fools,  or  life  would  be  too 
monotonous.  I  Ve  been  among  a  good  many 
people  in  my  time,"  he  added  in  his  deepest 
voice  ;  "  but  all  that 's  past  now.  Past  and  for- 
gotten. And  what 's  over  is  safest  let  alone. 
It's  twenty  years  now  since  I've  been  tuning 
pianos.  'T  is  a  good  trade ;  and  one  must  live 
somewhere." 

He  rolled  over  on  the  damp  grass,  and  thrust 
one  arm  up  under  his  head.  "  You  have  had  a 
good  deal  to  do  with  making  me  stay  there  so 
long,  my  Dino.  I  was  a  lonely  man  ;  it  has  made 
a  wonderful  difference  to  me  that  feeling  that,  at 


WITH   VALDEZ. 


239 


any  minute,  you  might  be  coming  in  and  out, 
making  a  noise,  knocking  about  in  the  old  rooms  ; 
they  would  seem  quiet  enough  without  you.  You 
made  a  wonderful  "difference." 

"  Well !  it 's  over  now,"  said  Dino,  pulling  up 
a  tuft  of  grass  and  hurling  it  far  into  the  water. 
"  It 's  gone  like  that." 

"  Lad,  you  take  things  too  hardly.  I'm  an 
older  man  than  you,  and  I  tell  you  you  should 
believe  in  happiness.  The  flower  of  life  is  a  gift, 
Dino,  without  money  and  without  price.  The  su- 
preme gifts  of  the  gods  can  neither  be  discussed 
nor  deserved.  Believe  in  happiness  ;  expect  it ; 
make  room  for  it  in  your  life  !  Have  faith  !  Faith 
moves  mountains.  And  Happiness  is  of  the  swift- 
footed  Immortals,  and  descends  only  on  the  gar- 
landed altars  of  her  worshippers." 

The  old  man  was  curiously  roused  out  of  his 
usual  reticence  and  quiet.  As  they  got  into  the 
boat  again  a  pale  gleam  of  sunlight  pierced  through 
the  gray  vapor  overhead  and  rested  on  the  dis- 
tant buildings  and  spires  of  Leghorn. 

"  Ay,  twenty  years.  I  've  lived  there  for 
twenty  years,"  Valdez  murmured,  looking  back 
at  the  shining  curve  of  the  white  houses  beside 
the  sea. 

"  Shall  you  go  back  immediately  ?  I  mean 
—  after  Rome  ?  "  Dino  asked  presently,  taking 
up  the  oars. 


240 


VESTIGIA. 


Valdez  glanced  at  him  keenly.  "  Maybe  I 
shall,  lad.  There  's  no  telling.  I  '11  see  you 
safely  to  the  end  of  your  journey  first."  After  a 
pause  he  added,  "  We  '11  wait  till  it  gets  dark, 
and  then  walk  on  to  Bocca  d'  Arno.  I  know  a 
man  there  will  give  us  a  bed  to  sleep  on.  And 
then  we  can  separate  for  a  day.  I  will  carry  the 
revolver  up  with  me  to  Rome  and  wait  for  you 
there.  The  review  is  not  till  Friday  ;  your  best 
plan  is  to  go  home  first  for  a  day.  And  it's 
safer  if  I  have  the  pistol  with  me.  The  police 
might  take  it  into  their  heads  to  have  you 
watched  and  searched  at  the  last  moment.  You 
can't  tell.  And  a  little  extra  precaution  costs 
nothing." 

"  Why  should  you  think  the  police  suspect 
anything  ?  " 

Valdez  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  C/ii  lo  sa  ?  Everything  and  nothing.  There 
were  men  I  could  not  account  for  at  the  door  of 
your  house  when  I  came  out  yesterday.  And 
that  young  Marchese  friend  of  yours,  I  had  some 
words  with  him  in  the  street.  He  spoke  of  your 
getting  into  dangerous  company.  But  it  may  be 
only  my  fancy  ;  who  can  tell  ?  " 

As  they  drew  near  Pisa  the  country  stretched 
before  them  a  flat  ploughed  plain,  of  a  pale  reddish 
brown,  crossed  by  interminable  lines  of  furrows. 
There  was  not  a  sign  of  life  anywhere  about. 


WITH   VALDEZ. 


241 


The  light  sandy  soil  of  the  plain  stretched  to  the 
far  horizon  like  an  expression  of  unrequited 
labor  ;  for  where  the  green  rows  of  maize  had 
already  pierced  the  ground  the  crop  promised 
to  be  poor  and  thin  and  stunted.  The  country 
was  extraordinarily  silent.  There  was  not  even 
a  lark  singing  under  that  low-roofed  sky.  The 
dark  line  of  pine-trees  where  the  king's  preserves 
begin  were  all  blown  one  way,  and  only  the 
wind  seemed  alive,  a  full  and  rioting  sirocco 
wind  blowing  with  insolent  unconcern  across 
these  empty  fields,  as  though  mocking  at  their 
record  of  patient  and  unsuccessful  toil. 

The  two  men  left  their  boat  at  the  last  bridge, 
just  outside  the  city  gates.  Valdez  was  familiar 
with  every  turning  of  the  Pisan  streets.  He  led 
the  way  now,  without  hesitating,  to  a  small  dingy 
shop  not  far  from  the  Duomo,  where  the  revolver 
was  soon  purchased,  Valdez  insisting  upon  going 
in  alone  to  buy  it. 

And  then  for  hours  they  sauntered  up  and  down 
the  quiet  thoroughfares,  over  the  bridges,  along 
the  quay  by  the  yellow  Arno.  The  deadly  still- 
ness of  the  place  weighed  with  a  sort  of  physical 
oppression  upon  Dino.  The  hours  stretched 
themselves  out  until  he  could  scarcely  believe 
that  it  was  only  in  the  first  freshness  of  this 
same  morning  that  they  had  turned  their  backs 
upon  Leghorn.  He  was  in  a  state  of  half-weary, 

16 


242  VESTIGIA. 

half-dreamy  unconsciousness,  like  a  man  under 
the  influence  of  some  strong  opiate.  Emotion 
was  dulled  and  deadened.  He  talked  constantly 
to  his  companion  all  through  that  long  spring 
afternoon  ;  he  found  amusement  and  occupation 
in  speculating  about  the  passing  faces.  Anything 
was  better  than  the  silence  which  threatened  him 
with  the  awakening  of  that  dull  pain,  which, 
whenever  he  ceased  speaking,  seemed  to  make 
a  new  clutch  at  his  heart. 

It  was  dusk  when  they  left  the  small  suburban 
caf£  where  they  had  eaten  supper,  and  passed 
under  an  old  archway  into  the  high-road  which 
leads  to  the  sea.  But,  late  as  it  was,  they  were 
not  the  only  travellers  afoot  and  bound  for  Bocca 
d'  Arno.  They  had  walked  scarcely  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  before  they  overtook  two  peasant  women, 
a  mother  and  daughter,  on  their  way  home  from 
making  purchases  in  the  town,  and  presently, 
as  they  all  four  walked  abreast  along  the  country 
road,  they  fell  into  converse  together.  Valdez 
began  questioning  the  elder  woman  about  the 
crops.  Then  he  asked  her  if  she  sent  her  chil- 
dren to  the  communal  schools. 

"  CJie  !  schools  !  yes,  indeed  !  that  was  a  likely 
idea,  to  carry  the  bimbi  four  miles  there  and 
four  miles  back  every  morning  that  God  sends 
us." 

The  old  democrat  looked  grave.      "  And  are 


WITH   VALDEZ. 


243 


there  many  children  who  cannot  read  in  the 
paese,  my  good  woman  ?  " 

"  Eh,  Signore  !  There  is  my  second  cousin, 
the  guardia  of  the  forest,  he  is  an  old  man  now  ; 
he  has  been  there  all  his  life,  and  he  gets  fifty-six 
centesimi  a  day,  to  support  himself  and  his  family. 
It  is  likely,  is  it  not,  that  he  should  trouble  his 
head  if  the  children  cannot  read  the  books  ?  and 
they  are  good  children." 

"  How  many  has  he  ? " 

"  E-e-h !  tanti !  Now,  two  of  the  boys 
are  grown  up  enough  to  work  in  the  wood  as 
foresters.  And  that  helps.  He  does  n't  poach, 
my  cousin,"  the  woman  said  regretfully,  turning 
her  sensible  face  towards  Valdez  ;  "  another  man 
would,  si  capisce.  But  my  cousin  —  he  cannot  see 
well.  And  then  he  misses  the  game  he  shoots 
at.  He  has  no  luck  about  him  —  not  enough  to 
make  you  wink  your  eye." 

She  walked  on  a  few  yards  and  added,  "  The 
Padrone  !  ah,  yes,  that  is  another  sort  of  weaving  ! 
The  Padrone  is  a  banker  in  the  city  :  when  he 
comes  to  shoot,  he  brings  his  luncheon  with  him 
in  his  pocket  ;  two  hard-boiled  eggs  ;  that 's  for 
fear  he  should  leave  any  bones  behind  him.  Is 
it  not  true,  Isola  ?  " 

Valdez  laughed,  and  the  girl  walking  beside 
Dino  opened  her  blue  eyes  frankly  and  looked 
up  in  his  face.  "  That  is  true  what  my  mother 


244  VESTIGIA. 

says.  But  you  are  not  like  your  friend  there, 
you  do  not  care  for  the  schools  ? " 

She  was  pretty,  even  in  this  dim  light  it  was 
easy  to  see  how  pretty,  with  a  round  babyish  face 
and  crisp  fair  hair.  She  wore  a  bright  cotton 
handkerchief  knotted  over  her  head,  and  in  her 
hand  she  carried  a  large  bundle. 

"  No.  I  am  not  so  wise  as  my  friend.  But 
at  least  I  am  good  for  some  things,"  said  Dino, 
smiling  down  at  her.  He  put  out  his  hand,  "  If 
you  will  trust  me  with  it,  we  are  going  the  same 
way.  I  can  carry  your  bundle." 

The  peasant  girl  drew  back.  "Nay.  What 
should  you  do  that  for  ?  "  she  objected  quickly. 
Then  after  a  pause  for  reflection  she  suggested, 
"  Perhaps  that  is  the  fashion  in  the  country  that 
you  come  from,  to  carry  other  people's  burdens  ? " 

"  Surely." 

"  Gtiardate !  But  that  is  quite  different.  No 
one  would  do  it  here  ;  not  even  the  sposo" 

"Are  you  going  to  be  married  soon,  Isola?  I 
think  I  heard  your  mother  call  you  Isola." 

"  Ah,  yes  ;  Isolina  ;  that  is  what  they  call  me. 
I  shall  not  be  married  until  next  Carnival.  It  is 
a  long  time  off,  but  what  would  you  have  ? 
When  one  is  poor  one  must  learn  to  make  one- 
self small  enough  to  pass  through  the  cat's  hole. 
That  is  what  I  tell  my  Pio."  She  ended  with  a 
laugh,  a  clear  ringing  bird-like  sound 


WITH   VALDEZ. 


245 


"Tell  me  about  him,"  said  Dino,  smiling  sym- 
pathetically, with  a  sense  of  pure  comradeship 
in  her  youth,  such  as  he  had  never  felt  before. 
All  that  was  living  and  joyous  and  young 
asserted  its  claim  over  him  ;  he  looked  across 
the  road  at  the  two  middle-aged  faces  of  their 
companions  with  an  exaggerated  perception  of 
what  they  had  outlived.  Life,  young  buoyant 
life,  seemed  the  one  thing  to  be  valued.  He  was 
sick  of  tragedy.  What  he  wanted  was  easy 
youthful  laughter,  and  the  warm  bright  satisfac- 
tion of  being.  The  innocent  chatter  of  this  lit- 
tle peasant  girl  satisfied  him  better  than  all  the 
theories  about  all  the  universe.  He  listened  in 
a  sort  of  vague  dream  to  the  rippling  flow  of  her 
talk.  When  she  ceased  speaking  he  yielded  to 
the  impulse  that  was  strong  within  him  ;  he  told 
her  about  Italia. .  What  he  said  was  very  little, 
only  that  he  and  his  sweetheart  were  parted  ;  he 
put  it  in  the  simplest  words  which  she  would 
understand. 

She  listened  ;  then  she  turned  her  bright  face 
towards  him,  glowing  with  spirit  and  brave 
interest.  "  Oh,"  she  said,  "  I  know  what  it  is 
like,  for  there  was  a  time,  one  week,  when  they 
would  not  let  me  speak  to  my  Pio." 

She  talked  to  him  now  of  herself  as  to  an  old 
friend  ;  with  the  unhesitating  frankness  of  a 
child  ;  the  young  man  was  strangely  touched 
and  pleased  by  her  simple  confidence. 


246  VESTIGIA. 

When  the  footpath  grew  narrower  she  walked 
on  in  front  of  him.  She  walked  well,  with  an 
easy  carriage ;  her  firm  bare  ankles  gleamed  in 
the  moonlight  below  the  hem  of  her  short  cotton 
gown  ;  her  loose  wooden  shoes  made  a  short 
quick  tapping  at  each  step  which  she  took. 

The  night  was  very  warm  and  still.  On  one 
side  of  the  road  the  Arno  flowed  past  silently  ; 
the  pale  light  in  the  sky  was  reflected  upon  its 
glassy  surface  as  upon  a  sheet  of  metal ;  it 
looked  like  a  river  of  lead.  As  the  moon 
rose  a  faint  wind  stirred  softly  among  the  bud- 
ding branches  of  the  lime-trees  which  edge  the 
fields,  and  the  delicate  shadows  of  the  moving 
stems  fell  upon  ploughed  land.  In  each  isolated 
farmyard  the  hay-ricks,  cut  close  for  last  winter's 
fodder,  assumed  a  curiously  velvety  texture  as 
the  moonlight  rested  on  their  blanched  and 
weather-beaten  tops. 

As  they  drew  nearer  the  mouth  of  the  Arno 
the  spreading  pines  of  the  Gombo  made  a  dark 
line  against  the  sky  to  their  right  and  across  the 
river.  The  fields  grew  wider ;  the  night  was 
full  of  a  new  sound  which  was  not  the  sound  of 
the  wind.  Dino  listened  more  intently ;  his 
quick  ear  could  distinguish  the  muffled  beat  of 
the  waves  upon  the  sandy  shore. 

Presently  they  reached  the  borders  of  the 
wood  ;  the  footpath  ended  ;  the  soil  grew  sandy 


WITH   VALDEZ. 


247 


underfoot.  At  the  turning  of  the  road  there 
were  lights  burning  in  some  cottages.  The 
peasant  women  stopped  at  the  door  of  one  of  the 
houses. 

"  Good-night,"  Isolina  called  out  in  her  friendly 
voice ;  "  good-night  again  ;  and  thank  you  for 
the  civil  company." 

She  disappeared  amidst  a  rapturous  chorus  of 
welcome  from  the  farmyard  dogs.  She  had 
brought  to  Dino  a  charmed  hour  of  forgetfulness ; 
he  watched  her  turning  away  from  him  with  an 
air  of  regret. 

Later,  as  they  lounged  upon  the  beach,  smok- 
ing their  pipes  in  the  still  moonlight,  Valdez 
said,  laying  his  hand  affectionately  upon  Dino's 
shoulder,  "  I  liked  hearing  you  laugh  with  that 
little  girl  to-night,  my  lad.  You  were  such  a 
light-hearted  lad  in  the  old  days.  You  're  fret- 
ting now.  Courage  !  my  Dino,  courage  !  There 
are  no  depths  for  a  brave  heart  from  which  hope 
cannot  mount ;  hope  which  outlasts  gold  and  the 
grave.  And,  for  a  man,  whatever  the  conse- 
quence of  his  action  may  be,  even  to  have  meant 
well,  is  sufficient  excuse  in  the  eyes  of  the 
woman  who  loves  him.  Excuse  ?  it 's  a  vindica- 
tion which,  nine  times  out  of  ten,  will  make  her 
end  by  asking  him  to  forgive  her  suspicion." 

"  I  know  it  ;  but  it  won't  save  Italia  from 
suffering,"  said  Dino  quickly. 


248  VESTIGIA. 

Valdez  was  silent.  Then  he  said,  "  Did  it 
never  occur  to  you  that  there  is  a  chance,  just  a 
chance,  of  your  getting  away  after  all  ?  Think 
of  the  crowd  and  the  confusion.  And  if  you 
once  get  outside  of  Rome  the  Society  will  soon 
find  means  of  taking  you  safely  beyond  the 
frontier.  There  is  always  that  chance,  you 
know." 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Dino,  turning  away 
abruptly. 

But  the  words  haunted  him  —  "There's  al- 
ways a  chance  "  —  "  always  a  chance  ; "  they 
rang  their  changes  upon  his  brain  far  into  the 
wakeful  night.  Once,  towards  morning,  unable 
to  sleep,  he  rose  and  groped  his  way  to  the  door 
of  the  hut  belonging  to  Valdez's  friend  and  host. 
The  shore  stretched  before  him,  and  the  moon- 
light on  the  wild  sea  grass.  When  the  moon 
went  under  a  cloud  the  wet  sand  by  the  edge  of 
the  receding  wave  was  of  a  bright  steely  blue  ; 
far  away  near  the  horizon  the  light  still  shone, 
a  streak  of  burnished  silver,  upon  the  tranquil 
sea. 

Valdez  was  sleeping  quietly ;  Dino  went  back 
and  threw  himself  down  by  his  side. 

It  was  late  when  the  young  man  awoke.  The 
little  hut  was  empty  ;  his  companion'  had  gone 
hours  before,  leaving  behind  him  a  message,  a 
few  scribbled  words,  to  say  that  the  fishing- 


WITH    VALDEZ. 


249 


smack  which  was  to  take  Dino  back,  by  another 
route,  to  Leghorn,  might  be  expected  to  call 
at  Bocca  d'  Arno  towards  sunset  that  same 
afternoon. 

There  was  food  and  water  in  the  hut.  It  was 
one  of  those  small  thatched  cabins,  built  for  the 
use  and  shelter  of  the  owners  of  the  great 
stationary  nets  suspended  from  beams  and 
worked  by  means  of  a  crank,  of  which  there  are 
several  by  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Dino  spent  the  long  day  in  the  woods.  It  was 
a  lovely  morning  when  he  first  went  out,  with  a 
touch  of  April  sweetness  in  the  air.  It  is  a  wild 
and  silent  shore.  The  flat-topped  pines  grow  to 
the  very  verge  of  the  sand-hills.  On  the  sea 
side  the  forest  ends  in  a  thick  undergrowth  of 
dark-spreading  juniper  bushes,  which  fill  the  hol- 
lows of  the  dunes  and  mingle  with  the  thistles 
and  the  tough  salt  grass.  And  the  wood  itself 
is  always  filled  with  the  sound  and  savor  of  the 
sea.  Before  a  storm  the  white-winged  gulls  flit 
wildly  in  and  out  between  the  pine  tops.  There 
is  fine  white  sand  underfoot  beneath  the  moss 
and  the  fallen  needles,  and  thick  growths  of 
all  strong-stemmed  aromatic  sea-loving  plants ; 
blue  rosemary,  and  tufted  heather,  and  great 
golden-crested  reeds.  Dino  lying  in  one  of 
those  sheltered  hollows,  with  closed  eyes,  could 
scarcely  distinguish  between  the  melancholy 


250 


VESTIGIA. 


murmur  of  the  trees  overhead  and  the  sleepy 
murmur  of  the  restless  waves.  The  very  air  had 
its  mingled  breath  of  salt  and  spiciness,  of  the 
sea  and  the  resinous  pines. 

By  Monte  Nero  all  nature  had  seemed  dead 
in  his  eyes  ;  the  downs  there  had  been  nothing 
more  to  him  than  an  empty  hillside,  a  dull  back- 
ground to  his  own  dominant  existence.  But 
here,  in  this  still  wood  — perhaps  because  of  his 
very  surrender  of  that  existence  —  there  was 
infinite  charm  and  interest  in  every  moment  of 
the  long  calm  hours.  He  felt  himself  a  mere 
spectator  watching  the  natural  life  of  things. 
He  found  occupation  for  half  a  morning  in  see- 
ing the  warm  spring  sunshine  creep  across  the 
straight  pine  stems  ;  in  looking  up  at  the  tender 
blue  of  the  sky  above  him  ;  in  listening  to  the 
myriad  small  noises  of  the  woods  ;  bird  notes, 
and  the  tapping  of  the  woodpeckers,  the  hum  of 
insects,  the  cracking  and  stirring  of  the  branches, 
and  the  rustling  furtive  tread  of  shy  four-footed 
creatures,  young  rabbits,  and  bright-eyed  squir- 
rels, or  the  quick  darting  of  green  lizards  across 
the  thin,  short  grass. 

Once  he  reflected,  "They  will  say  in  the 
papers,  afterwards,  the  prisoner  passed  a  day 
before  his  crime  concealed  in  the  woods  at 
Bocca  d'  Arno.  '  Concealed  in  the  woods  ! ' 
But  will  it  mean  this  to  them  ? "  He  looked 


WITH   VALDEZ. 


251 


down,  between  his  elbows,  at  a  patch  of  green- 
est moss  ;  a  miniature  pine-tree,  some  three 
inches  high,  raised  itself  proudly  above  the 
other  small  plants,  and  a  couple  of  shiny-backed 
beetles  wandered  up  and  down  its  stem.  Dino 
felt  in  his  pocket  for  crumbs,  and  strewed 
them  before  the  insects,  but  the  motion  of  his 
hand  frightened  them  away.  Presently  a  com- 
pany of  red-headed  ants  came  up  out  of  the 
ground  and  attacked  the  provisions.  Two  of 
the  ants  fought  one  another  for  a  particular 
crumb.  Dino  watched  their  movements  with 
the  intensest  interest.  When  they  had  vanished 
— "  The  prisoner  passed  the  day  before  com- 
mitting his  atrocious  crime  concealed  in  the 
woods  of  Bocca  d '  Arno,"  he  repeated  solemnly, 
and  he  laughed  aloud. 

No  one  came  near  him.  Once  he  heard  some 
quick  footsteps  and  the  cheery  whistle  of  a 
woodman  tramping  along  some  hidden  path  on 
his  way  home  to  dinner.  And  once,  from 
between  the  leaves  of  the  neighboring  alder 
thicket — young  leaves  so  brightly  green  that 
they  might  be  mistaken  for  flowers  —  there 
came  a  heavy  rustling  sound  which  excited  his 
curiosity.  He  strolled  over  to  the  place,  and 
peered  in  between  the  branches  at  a  pair  of 
those  great  melancholy-eyed  white  oxen  com- 
mon to  that  part  of  the  country. 


252 


VESTIGIA. 


Something  in  the  presence  of  those  "slow 
moving  animals,  breathing  content,"  reminded 
him  of  his  little  contadina.  A  sudden  wish  to 
speak  to  her  again  made  him  abandon  his  wood. 
Inland,  a  broad,  wet  ditch,  half  full  of  faded  sea- 
heather,  divided  him  from  the  ploughed  fields. 
He  jumped  the  ditch,  and  there,  hard  at  work 
behind  a  hedgerow,  he  stumbled  upon  Isolina. 

Her  short  blue  gown  was  tucked  up  above 
her  knees ;  her  scarlet  kerchief  was  hanging 
loose  from  her  hair ;  she  was  digging  away  like 
a  man,  and  her  bright,  childish  face  was  all  rosy 
and  warm  with  the  exertion.  She  nodded  in 
the  most  friendly  fashion  to  Dino  as  he  came 
nearer,  but  time  was  too  precious  to  be  wasted 
on  mere  talk  this  busy  morning.  Only,  as  he 
moved  away  again,  she  held  her  spade  sus- 
pended in  the  air  for  a  moment,  and  her  round 
cheeks  grew  pinker  still  as  she  said,  "As  you 
pass  through  the  farther  field,  will  you  greet  my 
Pio  for  me  ?  Give  him  tanti  saluti,  for  I  have 
not  seen  him  to-day." 

"  Shall  I  tell  him  I  left  you  making  the  cat 
hole  bigger  ?  "  asked  Dino,  beginning  to  laugh. 

Her  white  teeth  flashed.  "  Tell  him  to  dig 
away  at  his  own  end  of  it."  And  presently 
Dino  heard  her  voice  singing  as  he  strolled 
away  between  the  moist  brown  furrows. 

He  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  Pio,  a  short, 


WITH    VALDEZ. 


thick-set  contadino,  with  a  smiling,  good-natured 
face  below  its  thatch  of  thick,  irregularly-clipped 
hair,  brown  hair  burned  red  by  the  sun.  His 
face  was  tanned  to  the  color  of  yellow  bricks, 
except  at  the  temples  and  behind  the  ears, 
where  there  were  bits  of  white  skin.  He  wore 
a  ring  on  his  hand,  and  used  the  most  singular 
gestures  in  speaking. 

Dino  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  the  ditch  among 
the  weeds  and  grasses  to  watch  him  at  his  work. 
Valdez  would  have  talked  of  common  schools, 
perhaps  of  politics;  would  have  tried  most  likely 
to  drive  some  faint  idea  of  social  equality  and 
the  rights  of  labor  into  this  sturdy  peasant  with 
the  Figaro  face.  The  more  Dino  looked  at  him 
the  more  remote  he  felt  from  any  impulse  of 
proselytizing. 

This  idyllic  love-making,  with  its  simple  in- 
terests and  its  simple  cares  ;  its  messages  sent 
from  field  to  field  ;  —  its  naivete,  its  sincerity, 
its  security,  —  ended  by  plunging  Dino  into  the 
profoundest  melancholy.  For  the  first  time  he 
absolutely  realized  what  was  this  thing  which  he 
had  undertaken.  He  gazed  at  the  young  fellow 
beside  him  ;  he  noted  how  the  strong  muscles 
played  along  his  back  as  he  bent  to  his  work, 
and  the  vigorous  vital  grip  of  his  horny  hand. 

"  Will  that  piece  of  ditching  be  done  to-mor- 
row ?  "  he  asked  suddenly. 


254 


VESTIGIA. 


The  contadino  straightened  his  shoulders  and 
kicked  aside  a  heavy  clod.  "  Na  —  ay.  I  '11  be 
at  work  here  all  o'  Friday,  if  the  master  does  n't 
put  me  at  something  else,"  he  said  slowly. 

At  work  here  o'  Friday,  —  and  Friday  was  the 
day  of  the  review.  Dino's  whiter  hand  was 
lying  across  his  knee ;  he  clenched  the  fingers 
together  with  a  sudden  passion,  and  thrust  his 
doubled  fist  into  his  pocket.  His  hand,  in  his 
own  eyes,  had  seemed  the  hand  of  a  corpse. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

GOOD-BY. 

LATE  that  afternoon,  as  Dino  sprang  out  of  the 
fishing-smack  on  the  stone  steps  of  the  landing- 
place  at  Leghorn,  the  first  person  whom  his 
glance  rested  on  was  broad-shouldered  Maso 
sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  quay  with  his  legs 
and  feet  dangling  over  the  water.  He  got  up 
slowly  as  Dino  came  nearer,  and  nodded  with 
cheerful  friendliness. 

"/  know  that  boat  you  came  in.  She's  a 
Bocca  d  'Arno  smack,  she  is.  The  man  who 
owns  her  lives  at  Pisa." 

"  So  he  does,  Maso." 

Dino  looked  rather  anxiously  about  him.  It 
seemed  only  too  probable  that  old  Drea  was 
making  one  of  that  blue-coated  group  of  fisher- 
men who  were  sitting  a  dozen  paces  off  on  a 
coil  of  old  ropes,  criticising  the  craft  that  passed 
at  this  leisurely  hour  of  the  day,  when  the  nets 
had  already  been  looked  after,  and  there  was 
time  for  a  pause  and  the  smoking  of  pipes  be- 
fore the  night  work  began.  And  Dino  did  not 


256 


VESTIGIA. 


wish  to  meet  the  old  man  again.  He  shrank 
from  having  to  feel  once  more  the  altered  look 
of  that  face ;  all  the  old  affection  felt  bruised 
and  sore  when  he  remembered  it.  He  would 
have  turned  away  now  without  further  speech, 
but  Maso  detained  him. 

"  Are  n't  you  coming  back  to  work  in  the 
Bella  Maria,  Dino  ?  She 's  short-handed  now 
with  only  Sor  Drea  and  me.  'T  was  all  we 
could  do  to  manage  the  nets  this  morning.  I 
asked  the  Padrone  if  you  were  n't  coming  back 
soon." 

"Ay;  and  what  did  he  say?"  asked  Dino, 
rather  eagerly.  It  would  be  a  comfort  still  to 
know  that  his  old  friend  could  speak  kindly  of 
him. 

Taciturn  Maso  took  off  his  round  cap  and 
scratched  his  thick,  curly  hair  with  an  air 
of  consideration.  "Well,  I  dunno,"  he  said 
dubiously.  "  He  swore  at  me  for  being  a  fool, 
as  far  as  I  can  remember.  But  that  was  n't 
much  of  an  answer  —  that  wasn't.  An'  yet 
somehow  I  did  n't  seem  to  miss  nothing." 

"  But  did  n't  he  say  anything  ?  Try  and  re- 
member, Maso  ;  there  's  a  good  fellow.  Did  n't 
he  say :  '  Oh,  Dino  is  going  away,'  or,  '  Dino 
has  other  business  to  attend  to  ? '  He  must 
have  said  something,  you  know." 

"  Well,  he  did  swear  at  me.     I  told  you  that 


GOOD-BY. 


257 


already.  But,  good  Lord !  some  people  are 
never  satisfied  unless  the  words  come  in  shoals, 
like  the  mackerel  when  the  sharks  are  driving 
'em  ashore.  An'  it 's  Maso  here,  and  Maso 
there,  till  I  want  to  put  my  head  in  a  bucket  o' 
salt  water ;  I  do.  That 's  why  I  like  Italia  to 
speak  to  me,"  he  added  reflectively.  "  She 
never  says  too  much,  and  her  words  are  sort  o' 
pretty,  like  the  sea  in  a  calm,  when  the  water 
is  just  dozing  and  making  a  pleasant  noise." 

"  Have  you  seen  her  ?  —  have  you  seen  Italia 
to-day,  Maso  ? "  asked  Dino,  his  heart  beginning 
to  beat  faster. 

"  Oh,  ay ;  that 's  why  I  came  here  to  wait  for 
you.  I  saw  your  boat ;  I  knew  her  by  the  cut 
of  her  sails  before  she  was  fairly  round  the 
point  yonder.  But  I  'd  ha'  brought  her  in  on  a 
shorter  tack  if  I  'd  had  the  steering  of  her  —  / 
should." 

"What  —  what  was  it  Italia  wished  you  to 
tell  me  ? "  asked  Dino,  making  a  strong  effort  to 
control  his  impatience  and  not  excite  the  won- 
der of  the  honest,  slow-witted  young  fellow  by 
his  side. 

"  It  was  n't  so  much  of   a  message  after  all, 
when    I    think   o'    it.     I  say,    Dino,   you    know  . 
Sora  Lucia?     She  lives  at  the  top  of  that  big 
house  in  the  Via  Bianchi." 

"  I  know  —  I  know." 

17 


25  8  VESTIGIA. 

"  Well,  you  were  to  go  there,  now,  this  after- 
noon. Sora  Lucia  wants  to  speak  to  you. 
That  was  what  Italia  told  me.  She  told  me 
twice.  But,  Lord,  I  'm  not  such  a  stupid  as 
that.  I  can  remember  what  she  says  fast 
enough." 

"  Very  well,  then  ;  I  '11  go  now,"  said  Dino, 
feeling  rather  disappointed.  Still  it  was  possi- 
ble that  the  little  dressmaker  might  have  some 
message  for  him.  He  turned  back  to  inquire 
of  Maso  how  it  was  that  Italia  knew  of  his 
return  so  exactly. 

"  Nay,  how  should  /  know  ? "  retorted  Maso 
reproachfully.  "  You  don't  suppose  I  asked  her, 
do  you  ? " 

He  stood  on  the  quay  staring  after  young  De 
Rossi  with  a  look  of  the  most  sincere  admira- 
tion dawning  in  his  big  blue  eyes.  Dino  was  in 
some  sort  of  serious  scrape,  he  reflected  gravely. 
Else  why  did  n't  he  come  back  to  the  old  boat  ? 
And  to  have  time,  and  opportunity,  and  inven- 
tion enough  to  get  into  a  serious  scrape  was  in 
itself  a  distinction  in  honest  Maso's  eyes.  Itt 
was  almost  like  being  a  gentleman.  They  got 
into  lots  o'  trouble,  did  the  Padroni. 

"  It  all  comes  of  his  having  an  eddication,"  he 
pondered  enviously,  leaning  against  the  parapet 
and  looking  at  Dino's  back. 

It  was  not  far  to  the  corner  house  in  the  Via 


GOOD-BY. 


259 


Bianchi.  Dino  went  slowly  up  the  many  stairs  ; 
it  was  impossible  to  say  what  he  expected,  but 
his  heart  beat  very  fast  as  he  stopped  before 
Lucia's  door,  and  at  first  he  was  not  sure,  he 
could  not  tell,  if  there  had  been  any  answer  to 
his  knock. 

" Avanti,  Avanti.  Come  in;  I  cannot  leave 
the  work,"  a  woman's  voice  repeated  briskly, 
and  he  opened  the  door.  The  first  glance 
showed  him  that  the  big  room  was  empty  of 
what  he  most  desired.  There  was  no  one  in  it 
but  Lucia,  who  was  standing  with  her  back  to 
him  engaged  in  pressing  down  the  folds  of  a 
gown  with  a  hot  iron. 

"  Oh.  So  that 's  you,  Dino  ;  is  it  ? "  she  said 
brusquely,  without  turning  her  head. 

"  I  came  as  soon  as  I  got  your  message.  I 
have  only  just  returned  from  Bocca  d' Arno, 
Sora  Lucia  ;  and  I  met  Maso  on  the  quay." 

"  Oh.  'T  was  Maso  that  told  you ;  was  it  ? 
See  there  now.  And  I  who  always  took  him 
for  a  sort  of  two-legged  sea-calf,  with  only  just 
sense  enough  in  him  to  fall  in  love  with  Italia." 

"  Maso !  that  fellow  !  " 

"  Well,  well.  I  am  not  talking  Latin,  am  I  ? 
Santa  Vergine,  it  would  be  a  fine  world  if  all  the 
men  in  it  were  to  keep  their  eyes  shut  because 
a  certain  young  man  —  Basta.  I  understand 
what  I  mean." 


260  VESTIGIA. 

She  nodded  her  head  several  times,  and  took 
up  another  iron,  holding  it  carefully  near  her 
face  to  determine  the  exact  degree  of  heat. 

Dino  sat  and  looked  at  her  in  silence.  The 
clock  ticked  loudly  on  its  shelf,  and  the  dozing 
cat,  awakening  to  the  fact  of  the  presence  of  a 
visitor,  stretched  itself  two  or  three  times  sleep- 
ily, and  then  made  a  spring  and  perched  itself 
on  the  young  man's  knee.  He  rubbed  the 
creature's  head  mechanically  until  it  purred. 
Then  he  put  it  down  gently  on  the  ground  and 
stood  up. 

"  I  thought  you  might  have  something  to  say 
to  me,  Sora  Lucia.  But  if  not  I  will  ask  you  to 
let  me  wish  you  good-by  now.  I  have  not  seen 
my  mother  yet :  and  I  am  going  away  —  I  am 
going  to  Rome  to-morrow." 

"  Ah,  Rome  is  a  fine  city,"  said  Sora  Lucia 
briskly.  Then  she  bent  her  head  over  her  work 
again  and  added :  "  I,  too,  have  business  in 
Rome.  I  have  a  cousin  there,  my  own  flesh- 
and-blood  cousin,  who  has  a  shop  for  beads  and 
rosaries  and  objects  of  devotion  in  the  Borgo. 
Not  more  than  a  stone's  throw  from  the  house 
of  the  Holy  Father,  as  one  might  say.  I  may 
be  going  up  to  Rome  myself  one  of  these  days. 
It  seems  as  if  Leghorn  was  n't  good  enough  to 
stay  in  any  more.'  The  whole  world's  travel- 
ling." 


GOOD-BY.  26l 

"  Dunque,  I  '11  say  good-by  without  troubling 
you  further,  Sora  Lucia." 

"  Oh,  you  '11  not  go  without  a  greeting  to  the 
nonna  first.  She 's  wonderfully  pleased  when 
people  remember  to  say  good-by  to  her,"  said 
Lucia  hastily,  putting  down  her  irons  with  a 
clatter. 

She  went  to  the  inner  door  and  opened  it. 

"  Beppi.  Run  to  the  grandmother,  child,  and 
say  that  Dino  de  Rossi  is  here  and  waiting  to 
make  her  his  saluti.  —  And  tell  Italia  that  I 
want  her.  Say  that  I  want  her;  do  you  under- 
stand ?  These  children  have  not  so  much  head 
as  a  pin  between  'em  all,"  she  said  hastily, 
coming  back  to  her  work  with  almost  a  blush 
upon  her  thin  pale  cheek. 

Dino  looked  at  her  with  great  agitation. 
"  Does  Italia  know  —  Sora  Lucia,  if  Italia 
should  not  wish  to  see  me  — " 

"  She  's  not  here  to  see  you.  She  is  paying 
me  a  visit,"  said  the  little  dressmaker,  sharply. 
"And  not  the  worst  tongue  in  Leghorn  could 
blame  the  girl  for  coming  here.  It  would  be  a 
fine  thing,  indeed,  if  I  had  to  give  up  all  my  friends 
to  please  you,  Sor  Dino  !  I  —  Santa  pazienza  f" 

The  door  opened  again,  and  Italia  came  in, 
leading  by  the  hand  a  very  old  woman,  who 
steadied  herself  at  the  door,  and  dropped  Dino 
a  series  of  small  tremulous  courtesies. 


262  VESTIGIA. 

"  I  don't  remember  who  the  Signore  may  be, 
Lucia ;  but  you  know  who  he  is.  F  m  a  very 
old  woman,  now,  sir  ;  very  old.  I  don't  rightly 
remember  how  many  years  't  is  now  that  I  've 
been  living ;  but  I  worked  for  forty  year  at  the 
marble  works,  I  did ;  forty  year  picking  over 
the  rags  to  pack  the  marble." 

"  There,  nonna,  come  and  sit  in  your  own 
chair  by  the  fire ;  that 's  what  you  like  best," 
said  Lucia,  glancing  half  guiltily  at  Italia. 

The  girl  did  not  notice  her.  She  had  silently 
given  her  hand  to  Dino  as  she  came  in.  They 
stood  so  for  an  instant  without  speaking  ;  then 
she  slowly  lifted  up  her  dark  eyes.  There  was 
no  young  smile  in  them  now,  and  her  dear  pale 
face  had  grown  rigid  and  strained.  She  looked 
as  if  all  the  gladness  had  been  killed  within  her. 
Only  her  voice  had  not  changed  ;  its  full  clear 
ring  sounded  like  a  mockery  now  after  meeting 
that  look  of  infinite  misery  in  her  eyes. 

"  I  wanted  to  say  good-by,  Dino." 

"  Yes." 

"  And  I  wanted  to  ask  you,  when  you  go  to 
Rome,  could  not  little  Palmira  go  with  you  ? 
Will  you  take  her,  Dino  ?  Please  take  her." 

"  Palmira  ?  'take  that  child  ?  But,  dear  Italia, 
indeed  it  would  be  quite  impossible  !  " 

He  was  surprised  into  speaking  very  abruptly. 

"  Would    it  ?     I    did  not  know.     But  I  wish 


GOOD-BY.  263 

you  would,"  Italia  murmured,  looking  down  at 
her  hands.  She  added  hurriedly,  and  hardly 
moving  her  lips :  "  If  any  one  were  watching 
your  movements  ;  if  they  suspected  you  of  any- 
thing ;  it  would  be  safer  to  have  the  child." 

"But,  dear,  I  could  not  take  her.  It  is  im- 
possible. Why,  for  one  thing,  I  have  no  money. 
What  could  I  do  with  the  child  in  Rome  ? " 
Dino  urged,  still  speaking  with  the  vehemence 
of  surprise. 

She  shrank  away  a  little.  "  I  did  not  know. 
I  think  it  could  be  managed." 

"  Italia,  Italia,  I  want  to  ask  you  about  this 
work ;  you  always  know  the  right  thing  to  ad- 
vise one,"  said  Lucia  in  a  hasty  voice,  looking 
up  from  her  ironing. 

But  when  Italia  came  to  her  she  said  nothing, 
only  pushing  back  the  girl's  heavy  hair,  and 
giving  her  a  little  pat  on  the  cheek.  "  There, 
go  away,  go  away,  child.  You  are  interrupting 
me.  Go  and  talk  to  the  nonna" 

The  old  woman  was  watching  the  fire,  her 
eyes  following  its  flickering  motion  like  the  eyes 
of  a  young  child.  She  said  in  a  quavering  voice 
as  Italia  laid  her  hand  on  her  shoulder,  "  My 
knitting,  Maria ;  have  you  brought  me  my 
knitting  ? " 

"  Grannie  always  calls  Italia  Maria,"  observed 
the  small  Beppi  in  an  explanatory  manner  to 


264  VESTIGIA. 

Dino.     "  She  says  Maria  do  this,  Maria  do  that, 
and  all  the  while  she  's  speaking  to  Italia." 

"  It  was  my  mother's  name,"  said  Lucia,  nod- 
ding her  head.  "  She  's  dead  these  twenty  years, 
the  saints  have  her  soul !  but  the  nonna  does  n't 
remember." 

Italia  was  kneeling  before  the  purblind  old 
dame,  picking  up  the  dropped  stitches  in  a  coarse 
woollen  stocking.  "  Now  it  will  do  nicely,  dear 
nonna"  she  said  in  her  clear  grave  voice  ;  and 
the  grandmother  laid  her  trembling  hand  upon 
the  girl's  thick  hair  and  stroked  it ;  "  You  were 
always  a  good  child,  Maria  ;  always.  Now  Lucia 
there,  she  never  married,  an'  there's  many  a 
thing  she  doesn't  understand, —  many  a  thing, — 
many  a  thing." 

"  Italia,  will  you  fetch  me  the  body  of  this 
dress  ?  I  left  it  in  the  other  room  on  the  table," 
said  Lucia  suddenly.  She  waited  till  the  girl 
had  passed  through  the  open  door,  then  she 
hurriedly  turned  and  looked  at  Dino  :  "Go  —  go 
and  help  her  find  it  !  " 

He  went  straight  up  to  the  girl  and  caught 
both  her  hands  in  his. 

"My  dear,  my  love,  if  there  was  anything  I 
could  do  or  say  to  comfort  you.  I  would  give 
my  life  —  my  life  !  to  undo  the  harm  that  I  have 
done  to  you,  Italia." 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  said  hastily,  and  disengaged  her 


GOOD-BY.  265 

hands  and   bent   her  head  over  Lucia's  work. 
"Dino." 

"Yes,  dear." 

"  I  wanted  to  ask  you.  There  is  just  one 
thing."  She  bent  her  face  until  it  nearly  touched 
the  table.  "  They  tell  me  so,  and  I  cannot  con- 
tradict it,"  she  murmured ;  her  sweet  lips  con- 
tracted and  grew  pale. 

"What  is  it,  dear?  Tell  me.  Tell  me, 
Italia." 

"  Ah,  there  is  no  other  woman  whom  you  care 
for,  then,  at  Rome  ? "  Her  voice  was  scarcely 
audible,  and  she  turned  her  head  from  side  to 
side  without  looking  at  him. 

"Italia!" 

He  caught  hold  of  her  hands  again,  and  forced 
her  to  meet  his  glance.  "  Upon  my  honor — no  ! 
There  is  no  other  woman  for  me  in  all  the  world 
but  you.  And  I  love  you,  Italia,  —  I  love  you,  I 
love  you,"  Dino  said. 

She  bent  her  head  a  little.  "  I  did  not  know." 
Then,  still  without  looking  at  him,  "  Now  —  I 
shall  not  be  so  unhappy,  my  Dino." 

Sora  Lucia  came  as  far  as  the  doorway  and 
looked  in.  "  You  have  found  the  bodice,  Italia  ? 
Well,  well,  there  is  no  hurry  for  it,  none  at  all." 

"  I'  m  coming,  Lucia  —  directly." 

She  clasped  both  her  hands  together,  and  held 
them  out  mutely. 


266  VESTIGIA. 

"  Italia,"  he  said,  seizing  them,  "  I  must  ask 
you  this.  Is  it  true  about  Maso  ?  would  your 
father  make  you  marry  him  ?  For  God's  sake 
tell  me !  " 

"  I  can't  grieve  my  father,"  she  said  faintly  ; 
"  he  has  only  me.  But  —  Dino  "  —  her  eyes 
seemed  to  pierce  his  very  heart  as  she  looked  at 
him  —  "  oh,  my  poor  Dino  !  "  she  said.  And  she 
stooped  and  gathered  up  the  scattered  pieces  of 
work  from  the  table,  and  left  him  standing  there 
alone  in  the  room. 

He  could  never  remember  what  happened  after 
then  until  he  found  himself  out  in  the  street, 
walking  towards  home  through  the  still  spring 
twilight. 

But  the  next  day,  just  as  the  Roman  train  was 
starting,  a  woman  dressed  very  neatly  in  black, 
and  holding  a  child  by  the  hand,  came  running 
along  the  platform,  looking  in  at  the  windows 
of  the  third-class  carriages.  It  was  Sora  Lucia 
with  little  Palmira  ;  they  had  scarcely  time  to 
secure  their  seats  in  Dino's  compartment  before 
the  train  started. 

"  You  may  well  be  surprised  to  see  us  ;  you 
may  well  look  astonished,  Sor  Dino,"  the  lit- 
tle dressmaker  began  nervously,  as  the  engine 
puffed  out  of  the  station. 

"  But  oh,  Dino,  Dino,  it  was  Italia's  plan  ! " 
broke  in  little  Palmira,  clapping  her  hands  ec- 


GOOD-BY.  267 

statically.  "And  she  asked  mother  to  let  me  go 
with  Lucia,  only  mother  would  n't  tell  you  be- 
cause it  was  to  be  a  secret.  And  Italia  said  that 
Lucia  would  have  to  go  and  see  her  cousin,  and 
you  would  take  me  to  look  at  the  wolf,  Dino. 
Dino,  will  you  take  me  to  look  at  the  wolf  ? " 

"  What  does  this  mean  ?  "  the  young  man 
demanded  rather  impatiently,  fixing  his  eyes  on 
Lucia,  who  only  tossed  her  head,  affecting  to 
be  absorbed  in  examining  the  fastening  of  the 
window. 

"And,  Dino,  Italia  sold  her  ring  in  a  shop,  her 
beautiful  new  gold  ring  that  the  Signor  Mar- 
chese  gave  her  on  her  birthday.  She  sold  it  to 
get  the  money  to  send  us,  because  Lucia  had  to 
go  and  see  her  cousins,  who  have  a  shop  in  the 
Borgo,"  continued  little  Palmira  in  an  awestruck 
voice.  She  had  never  seen  Dino  look  so 
strangely  ;  his  face  was  quite  white,  and  he  did 
not  seem  at  all  pleased  to  see  them.  The  pros- 
pect of  feeding  the  wolf  grew  fainter  at  every* 
minute,  and  Palmira's  small  pale  cheeks  began 
to  flush  ominously. 

"  There,  there,  little  one.  Don't  cry.  There 's 
a  good  little  girl,"  said  Dino  hastily,  and  patting 
her  kindly  on  the  head. 

He  lowered  his  voice  and  turned  to  Lucia. 
"  Was  this  Italia's  own  idea  ?  Did  no  one  sug- 
gest it  to  her  ?  "  he  asked  anxiously. 


268  VESTIGIA. 

"  Nay,  if  you  want  to  know  so  many  things 
about  Italia,  Sor  Dino,  't  is  a  pity  you  could  not 
stay  in  Leghorn  long  enough  to  ask  her  the 
questions  yourself.  But  you  prefer  leaving  the 
people  who  care  for  you  to  dry  their  own  eyes 
and  look  after  their  own  concerns.  Well,  well, 
it'  s  the  way  of  the  world  apparently.  And  you 
take  your  own  responsibility.  After  all,  one's 
actions  belong  to  oneself ;  you  can't  have  other 
people's  babies,"  said  Sora  Lucia  dryly.  And 
she  continued  to  look  out  of  the  carriage  window 
till  they  were  well  on  their  way  to  Rome. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE    FIRING    OF    THE    SHOT. 

VALDEZ  seemed  very  much  struck  by  the  news 
of  little  Palmira's  arrival.  The  child  had  gone 
to  spend  the  night  with  Lucia  at  the  house  of 
her  cousin.  "  But  you  can  call  for  her  there  in 
the  morning,  my  Dino.  Ay ;  call  for  her  and 
take  her  with  you  by  all  means.  So  Italia  sent 
her  after  you  ?  Ah  !  it  needs  a  woman  to  think 
of  a  thing  like  that.  Ay,  take  the  child ;  't  is 
the  one  surest  way  of  diverting  any  suspicion. 
And  I  '11  be  near  you,  lad,  at  the  time  ;  I  '11  look 
after  her  ;  I  '11  look  after  her." 

The  old  man  had  placed  both  food  and  wine 
upon  the  table  in  the  small  lodging  which  he 
had  secured  for  himself  and  De  Rossi,  but  Dino 
did  not  even  make  a  pretence  of  eating. 

"  You  '11  be  fit  for  nothing  to-morrow,  lad," 
Valdez  remonstrated,  looking  at  him  rather 
anxiously. 

"I  want  nothing  —  nothing,"  said  Dino  with 
passionate  impatience,  turning  his  back  upon 
him  and  beginning  to  pace  up  and  down  the 
narrow  room. 


270 


VESTIGIA. 


"  Nay,  have  your  own  way,  lad  ;  have  your 
own  way." 

Dino  went  and  stood  by  the  window,  looking 
out  at  the  small,  dimly-lighted  street.  A  slight 
shower  of  rain  was  falling  ;  he  stood  there  for  a 
long  time  idly  watching  the  reflections  of  the 
gas-lamp  opposite  upon  the  glistening  stones. 

"Valdez,"  he  said  abruptly,  "where  do  you 
suppose  I  shall  be  at  this  time  to-morrow  ? " 
But  he  went  on  without  giving  him  time  to 
answer.  "  It 's  an  odd  thing  —  that  feeling  that 
one  has  done  with  one's  youth.  I  Ve  had  an 
experience  that  has  made  everything  different 
to  me.  I  could  not  go  back  now ;  no  more 
than  a  man  could  go  back  to  being  a  child. 
Perhaps  I  was  n't  worth  much  before.  I  never 
thought  of  that.  But  I  think  I  might  be  of 
some  use  if  I  were  to  live  now,  Valdez." 

"Ay,  my  lad.  You've  made  a  great  differ- 
ence to  me  as  it  *is,"  the  old  man  answered 
tenderly. 

Presently  he,  too,  rose  from  his  chair  and 
went  and  stood  beside  the  window. 

"  There  was  one  thing  I  had  to  tell  you  ;  I 
nearly  forgot  it.  I  Ve  been  to  see  the  head 
men  of  the  committee  since  I  came  up  here, 
and  I  Ve  settled  one  thing  for  you,  —  after  to- 
morrow your  name  gets  struck  off  the  books. 
I  Ve  done  one  or  two  things  for  them  in  my 


THE  FIRING   OF   THE   SHOT. 


271 


time,"  Valdez  said  slowly,  "  and  they  owed  me 
something.  I  never  asked  them  for  anything 
before.  And  I  made  myself  responsible  for  you 
in  this  matter,  lad ;  I  answered  for  you  at 
Leghorn."  He  laid  his  hand  on  Dino's  shoul- 
der. "  It  was  I  who  brought  you  into  this  thing 
at  the  beginning.  And  I  made  a  mistake. 
You  're  not  fit  for  it.  But  you  've  never  re- 
proached me  with  what  it  costs  you,  my  lad  ; 
never  once." 

Dino  looked  at  him  vaguely,  as  if  he  scarcely 
understood  what  was  said. 

"  I  'm  not  afraid,  if  that  is  what  you  mean," 
he  said  simply.  "  I  never  was  afraid  for  myself. 
It  is  only  leaving  the  others  that  I  mind  — 
Italia,  and  the  mother,  and  old  Drea.  You 
don't  know  how  good  they  have  been  to  me, 
Valdez.  I  don't  know  why.  It  seems  now  as 
if  I  had  never  done  anything  for  it.  But  I  'm 
not  frightened.  You  need  not  think  I  'd  play 
you  false  at  the  last." 

"  No,  lad ;  no." 

"  I  offered  once  to  give  it  all  up  —  to  throw 
everything  over  —  for  Italia.  She  would  not 
let  me.  But  you  don't  know  how  I  hurt  her, 
Valdez.  And  I  can  never  make  it  up  to  her 
now." 

"  Ah !  she  has  a  brave  heart,  that  girl,"  said 
Valdez  in  his  deepest  voice.  "A  brave  true 


2/2 


VESTIGIA. 


heart  And  courage  and  passion,  Dino,  you 
can't  go  beyond  that, — courage  and  passion, 
they  're  the  immortal  facts  of  life.  Where  they 
pass,  the  world  marks  the  spot." 

He  shifted  his  grasp  a  little,  and  let  his  hand 
rest  upon  the  young  man's  arm.  "  Come  to  bed, 
boy.  Give  over  thinking.  You  are  tired  out, 
my  Dino  ;  you  need  sleep,"  he  said,  speaking 
with  a  strange  new  gentleness.  As  for  himself, 
he  never  went  to  bed  at  all.  Through  the  long 
dreary  hours  of  the  night  he  sat  patiently  wait- 
ing in  the  darkened  room  for  the  sun  to  rise 
upon  a  new  day. 

Dino  had  thrown  himself  down  upon  the  hard 
couch  at  the  end  of  the  room.  He  slept  heavily, 
the  sleep  of  young  exhaustion.  Once,  towards 
daybreak,  he  started  up  suddenly  with  an  excla- 
mation of  alarm. 

"  Valdez!  I  thought  it  was  morning,  Valdez." 

"  Nay,  lad ;  I  '11  call  you  when  the  time  comes  ; 
go  to  sleep." 

"  What  sort  of  a  night  is  it  now  ?  " 

The  old  democrat  rose  stiffly  from  his  chair ; 
he  felt  cramped  and  sore  from  the  long  night's 
watching.  He  pushed  aside  the  scanty  curtain. 
"The  rain  has  stopped.  It'll  be  a  fine  day 
to-morrow." 

"So  much  the  better,"  Dino  said.  "I  should 
like  the  sun  to  shine."  His  head  dropped  again 


THE  FIRING  OF   THE   SHOT. 


273 


upon  his  hard  pillow.  The  candle  had  burnt 
itself  out  in  its  socket.  There  was  no  sound  in 
the  room  but  the  heavy  breathing  of  the  weary 
sleeper  and  the  ticking  of  Valdez's  watch,  which 
lay  before  him  on  the  table.  He  sat  there, 
counting  the  hours. 

And  at  last  the  dawn  broke,  chill  and  gray ; 
the  dim  light  struggling  in  at  the  window  made 
a  faint  glimmer  upon  the  glasses  which  stood 
beside  the  untouched  food.  To  the  old  man 
keeping  his  faithful  watch  beside  the  sleeper, 
this  was  perhaps  the  hardest  hour  of  all  —  till 
the  darkness  wore  slowly  away ;  the  sky  turned 
to  a  clear  stainless  blue ;  and  all  the  city  awoke 
to  the  radiance  of  the  April  day. 

Soon  the  bells  began  their  joyous  clash  and 
clamor.  It  was  hardly  eight  o'clock  when  the 
two  men  stepped  out  into  the  street  together, 
but  the  rejoicing  populace  was  astir  already,  and 
hurrying  towards  the  new  quarter  of  the  Macao. 

Rome  was  in  festa,  heavy  and  splendid  Rome. 
Bright  flags  fluttered,  and  many-colored  carpets 
and  rugs  were  suspended  from  every  available 
window.  All  along  the  Via  Nazionale,  a  double 
row  of  gaudily-decked  Venetian  masts,  hung 
with  long  wreaths  and  brilliant  flapping  ban- 
ners, marked  the  course  where  the  royal  car- 
riages were  to  pass.  But  it  was  farther  on,  at 
the  Piazza  dell'  Indipendenza,  that  the  crowd 
18 


274 


VESTIGIA. 


was  already  thickest.  The  cordon  of  soldiers 
had  been  stationed  here  since  early  morning. 
Looking  down  from  any  of  the  neighboring 
balconies  upon  that  swarming  sea  of  holiday- 
makers,  it  seemed  impossible  that  even  the 
great  Piazza  could  contain  more ;  and  yet  at 
every  instant  the  place  grew  fuller  and  fuller ;  a 
steady  stream  of  people  poured  in  from  every 
side  street  ;  peasants  from  the  country  in  gay 
festa  dress  ;  shepherds  from  the  Campagna  in 
cloaks  of  matted  sheepskin  ;  and  strapping 
black-haired  girls  with  shrill  voices  and  the 
step  of  queens,  who  had  come  all  the  way  from 
Trastevere  to  look  on  at  the  spectacle,  —  there 
was  no  end,  no  cessation  to  the  thickening  and 
the  growing  excitement  of  the  crowd. 

Dino  had  taken  his  place  very  early.  It  was 
exactly  at  the  corner  of  the  Piazza,  where  a 
street-lamp  made  a  support  for  his  back,  and 
prevented  him  from  being  brushed  aside  by  the 
gathering  force  and  pressure  of  the  multitude. 
He  had  found  a  safe  place  for  Palmira  to  stand, 
on  the  iron  ledge  which  ran  around  the  lamp- 
post. The  child's  little  pale  face  rose  high 
above  the  crowd  ;  she  was  quiet  from  very  ex- 
cess of  excitement,  only  from  time  to  time  she 
stooped  to  touch  her  brother's  shoulder  in  token 
of  mute  content. 

Valdez  stood  only  a  few  paces  behind  them. 


THE  FIRING   OF   THE   SHOT. 


He  had  kept  the  revolver  in  his  own  possession 
to  the  last  moment.  It  was  arranged  that  he 
should  pass  it  to  Dino  at  a  preconcerted  signal, 
and  as  the  King  came  riding  past  for  the  second 
time. 

Dino  had  scarcely  spoken  all  that  morning, 
but  otherwise  there  was  no  sign  of  unusual  ex- 
citement about  him.  He  was  deadly  pale  ;  at 
short  intervals  a  faint  red  flush  came  and  went 
like  a  stain  upon  his  colorless  cheek.  But  he 
answered  all  little  Palmira's  questions  very  pa- 
tiently. The  morning  seemed  very  long  to  him, 
that  was  all.  He  stood  fingering  the  handker- 
chief in  his  pocket  with  which  he  was  to  give 
Valdez  the  signal  for  passing  him  the  weapon. 

It  was  more  than  twenty-four  hours  now  since 
he  had  tasted  food,  and  the  long  abstinence  was 
beginning  to  tell  upon  him  ;  at  times  his  head 
felt  dizzy,  and  if  he  closed  his  eyes  the  continuous 
roar  and  chatter  of  the  crowd  sank  —  died  away 
far  off  —  like  the  sound  of  the  surf  upon  a  dis- 
tant shore.  At  one  moment  he  let  himself  go 
entirely  to  this  curious  new  sensation  of  drifting 
far  away  ;  it  was  barely  an  instant  of  actual 
time,  but  he  recovered  himself  with  a  start 
which  ran  like  ice  from  head  to  foot  ;  it  was  a 
horrible  sensation,  like  a  slow  return  from  the 
very  nothingness  of  death.  He  shivered  and 
opened  his  eyes  wide  and  looked  about  him. 


276  VESTIGIA. 

He  seemed  to  have  been  far,  far  away  from  it 
all  in  that  one  briefest  pause  of  semi-uncon- 
sciousness, yet  his  eyes  opened  on  the  same 
radiant  brightness  of  the  sunshine  ;  a  holiday 
sun  shining  bravely  down  on  glancing  arms  and 
fretting  horses ;  on  the  dark  line  of  the  soldiers 
pressing  back  the  people,  and  the  many-colored 
dresses,  the  laughing,  talking,  good-natured  faces 
of  the  gesticulating  crowd. 

One  of  these  mounted  troopers  was  just  in 
front  of  Dino.  As  the  human  mass  surged  for- 
ward, urged  by  some  unexplainable  impulse  of 
excitement  and  curiosity,  this  man's  horse  began 
backing  and  plunging.  The  young  soldier 
turned  around  in  his  saddle,  and  his  quick  glance 
fell  upon  Palmira's  startled  face. 

"  Take  care  of  your  little  girl  there,  my  friend," 
he  said  to  Dino  good-humoredly,  and  forced  his 
horse  away  from  the  edge  of  the  pavement. 

Dino  looked  at  him  without  answering.  He 
wondered  vaguely  if  this  soldier  boy  with  the 
friendly  blue  eyes  and  the  rosy  face  would  be 
one  of  the  first  to  fall  upon  him  when  he  was 
arrested  ?  And  then  his  thoughts  escaped  him 
again  —  the  dimness  came  over  his  eyes. 

He  roused  himself  with  a  desperate  effort. 
He  began  to  count  the  number  of  windows  in 
the  house  opposite ;  then  the  number  of  police- 
men stationed  at  the  street  corner ;  an  officer 


THE  FIRING   OF   THE   SHOT. 


277 


went  galloping  by  ;  he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the 
glancing  uniform  until  it  became  a  mere  spot  of 
brightness  in  the  distance. 

Hark! 

The  gun  at  the  palace.  The  King  was  start- 
ing from  the  Quirinal.  All  the  scattered  cries 
and  laughs  and  voices  were  welded  together  in- 
to one  long  quavering  roar  of  satisfaction  and 
excitement. 

There  —  again  !  and  nearer  at  hand  this  sec- 
ond gun. 

The  cheers  rise  higher,  sink  deeper.  He  is 
coming,  the  young  soldier  King,  the  master  of 
Italy,  the  popular  hero.  See  !  hats  are  waving, 
men  are  shouting,  —  the  infection  of  enthusiasm 
catches  and  runs  like  fire  along  the  line  of  eager, 
expectant  faces.  Here  he  comes.  The  roar 
lifts,  swells,  grows  louder  and  louder  ;  the  mil- 
itary bands  on  either  side  of  the  piazza  break 
with  one  accord  into  the  triumphant  ringing 
rhythm  of  the  royal  march.  They  have  seen  the 
troops  defile  before  them  with  scarcely  a  sign 
of  interest ;  but  now,  at  sight  of  that  little 
isolated  group  of  riders  with  the  plumed  and 
glittering  helmets,  there  comes  one  mad  instant 
of  frantic  acclamation,  when  every  man  in  that 
crowd  feels  that  he  too  has  some  part  and  pos- 
session in  all  the  compelling,  alluring  splendor 
and  success  of  life. 


278  VESTIGIA. 

And  just  behind  the  royal  cavalier,  among 
the  glittering  group  of  aides-de-camp,  rode  the 
young  Marchese  Balbi.  He  was  so  near  that 
Dino  could  scarcely  believe  their  eyes  did  not 
actually  meet ;  but  if  Gasparo  recognized  him  he 
gave 'no  sign,  riding  on  with  a  smile  upon  his 
happy  face,  his  silver-mounted  accoutrements 
shining  bravely  in  the  sun. 

And  so,  for  the  first  time,  the  doomed  King 
passed  by. 

Dino  scarcely  heeded  him  ;  at  that  moment 
he  had  forgotten  everything  unconnected  with 
the  sight  of  that  one  familiar  face.  His  mother, 
his  old  home,  —  Italia  even,  —  had  grown  dim 
and  unreal  ;  he  forgot  them  all  in  the  sensation 
of  that  quick  rush  of  renewed  affection.  All  the 
old  pride,  the  old  delight,  in  Gasparo,  which  had 
made  so  great  a  part  of  his  boyhood,  came  back 
upon  him  with  the  irresistible  claims  of  reawak- 
ened tenderness.  He  was  there  to  commit  a 
murder  ;  and  out  of  all  that  crowd  he  saw  only 
the  one  face  which  he  knew  —  and  he  loved  it. 

That  curious  sense  of  floating  away,  far  away 
from  everything  living,  fell  upon  him  again. 
He  lost  all  count  of  time.  He  could  never  tell 
how  long  it  was  before  he  heard  little  Palmira 
cry  out  in  shrill  tones  of  childish  excitement : 

"  I  see  him,  Dino.  There  he  comes  again. 
The  King,  the  King  all  in  gold ! " 


THE  FIRING   OF   THE   SHOT. 


279 


Dino  started,  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  started 
wide  awake.  He  drew  himself  up  like  a  soldier 
standing  at  attention  ;  his  brain  was  steady  ;  his 
senses  all  alert.  He  watched  eagerly  ;  the  white 
plumes  were  slowly  advancing  between  the  two 
serried  ranks  of  the  soldiery.  He  waited  until 
he  could  distinguish  the  King's  face  distinctly  ; 
he  saw  him  lean  a  little  forward  and  pat  his 
restive  horse  — 

And  then,  without  turning,  he  gave  Valdez  the 
preconcerted  signal. 

And  even  as  he  raised  the  handkerchief  to  his 
lips  he  heard,  not  ten  paces  off,  the  sharp  ring- 
ing report  of  a  shot. 

It  was  all  over  in  an  instant  —  the  sound  — 
the  plunging  of  the  frightened  horses.  He  saw 
the  white  plume  of  the  King  pass  by  unscathed, 
and  Gasparo  Balbi,  who  was  riding  nearest  him, 
throw  up  his  arms  and  fall  backward,  quietly,  into 
the  rising  cloud  of  dust. 

A  great  cry  broke  from  the  people  all  about 
him  — it  rang  in  his  ears  —  it  sounded  far  away 
like  the  beating  of  a  furious  tide  upon  the  distant, 
distant  shore.  A  blackness,  a  horrible  blackness 
which  he  could  feel,  passed  over  his  face  like  a 
cloud.  And  then  he  knew  nothing  more. 

Some  quarter  of  an  hour  later  one  of  the  two 
guardie  who  were  helping  to  lift  his  insensible 


280  VESTIGIA. 

body  into  a  street  cab  looked  compassionately 
down  at  Dino's  clenched  hands  and  pallid  death- 
like face. 

"  'T  is  no  wonder  the  poor  giovane  fainted," 
he  said  sympathetically,  addressing  the  little 
crowd  about  him.  "  'T  is  no  wonder  he  fainted. 
Perdio  !  as  it  so  happens  I  was  looking  straight 
at  him,  —  he  was  not  ten  paces  away  from  the 
villain  who  fired  the  shot." 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

VESTIGIA    NULLA    RETRORSUM. 

ONE  cloudless  April  morning,  some  three  weeks 
later,  the  warm  bright  sunshine  was  making  a 
pleasant  difference  even  to  the  prisoners  who 
were  taking  their  usual  hour  of  exercise  between 
the  four  high  walls  of  the  paved  courtyard  at  the 
Carcere  Nuove.  But  there  was  one  among  them, 
a  middle-aged  man  with  gray  hair  and  a  curiously 
piercing  look  in  his  heavy-lidded  eyes,  who 
seemed  to  be  expecting  something  beside  the 
blue  sky  and  the  soft  air  of  this  balmy  morning. 
And  presently  that  something  came. 

The  other  prisoners  looked  after  him  rather 
enviously  as  he  left  the  court  in  answer  to  the 
turnkey's  imperative  summons.  Apparently  he 
had  been  sent  for  to  speak  to  a  friend  ;  they 
grumbled  a  little  between  themselves  at  this 
sign  of  the  governor's  favor. 

It  was  Dino  de  Rossi  who  was  waiting  for 
Valdez  in  that  small  high-walled  cell.  The  two 
men  had  not  met  since  the  morning:  of  the 


282  VESTIGIA. 

attempted  assassination  ;  they  grasped  hands 
and  looked  into  one  another's  face  with  an  emo- 
tion which  lay  too  deep  for  mere  speech. 

Presently  the  older  man's  mouth  relaxed  into 
a  faint  smile.  "  Well,  lad.  So  you  have  come 
to  see  me.  You  are  looking  better.  They  told 
me  you  were  very  ill,  and  I  've  been  anxious 
about  you,"  he  said  simply. 

"  I  came  to  you  as  soon  as  I  could  get  up," 
Dino  answered,  in  a  voice  that  was  broken  with 
repressed  feeling  He  looked  about  him,  at  the 
prison  bed,  the  grated  window,  the  bare  stone 
walls.  "  You  've  put  yourself  here,  —  here,  in 
my  place,  Valdez.  Valdez,  it  nearly  drives  me 
mad  to  remember  it.  I  'd  give  half  my  life  if  I 
could  change  places  with  you  to-day." 

"  Nay,  my  lad,  there 's  nothing  the  matter 
with  the  place.  It 's  comfortable  enough  ;  and 
it  's  of  my  own  choosing.  Come,  come,  my 
Dino ;  you  're  weak  still  with  the  fever  ;  sit  down, 
lad,  sit  down." 

They  sat  down  side  by  side  on  the  narrow 
straw  pallet.  Then  Valdez  added  cheerfully, 
"And  there's  better  news  still  of  your  friend 
Gasparo  this  morning.  1  'm  glad  of  that,  I  bore 
the  young  man  no  malice ;  I  'm  glad  to  think 
he 's  likely  to  get  over  it,  after  all." 

"  Valdez,  I  never  could  understand  that  part 
of  it ;  they  said  at  the  trial  you  wanted  to  shoot 


VESTIGIA    NULLA   RETRORSUM.       283 

him  purposely.  They  said  you  had  had  some 
quarrel  with  him  ? " 

"  Ay,  lad.  There  was  no  denying  we  had  had 
words  together ;  and  that  fat  old  fool,  Sor  Gio- 
vanni, whom  they  got  up  from  Leghorn  as  a 
witness,  —  he  was  willing  to  swear  till  he  was 
black  in  the  face  that  he  had  heard  me  threaten 
to  murder  the  young  Marchese."  He  lowered 
his  voice  and  added,  "  I  'd  had  my  directions 
beforehand  —  from  them,  up  at  the  committee 
there  —  what  to  say  in  case  the  attempt  on  the 
King  proved  a  failure.  I  know  the  best  thing  I 
can  do  for  them  is  to  hold  my  tongue.  If  the 
judges  chose  to  shut  their  eyes  to  what 's  staring 
them  in  the  face,  it 's  not  my  duty  to  correct 
their  blunders.  But  they  wanted  to  hush  it  up, 
lad  ;  they  did  not  want  to  make  it  into  a  political 
scandal,  with  those  elections  coming  on." 

He  was  silent  again.  Then  he  turned  and 
laid  his  hand  affectionately,  in  the  old  way,  on 
Dino's  shoulder. 

"  How  are  they  all  at  Leghorn,  boy  ? " 

"All  well.  I  had  a  letter  from  my  mother 
this  morning." 

"  And  Italia  ?  " 

Dino  half  smiled.  "  Well  too.  She  sent  me 
a  message  for  you.  She  wanted  you  to  know 
she  never  would  believe  you  had  meant  to  hurt 
anybody.  You  don't  mind  my  telling  you, 
Valdez  ?  She  meant  only  what  was  kindest." 


284  VESTIGIA. 

"  Ay.  She 's  a  good  girl  that ;  a  good  girl. 
And  when  are  you  going  back  to  them  all,  my 
boy  ?  "  he  asked  suddenly,  fixing  his  companion 
with  his  piercing  glance. 

Dino  flushed  red.  "  I  shall  stay  and  see  you 
through  it.  Valdez,  that  is  little  enough  to  do 
for  you.  You  don't  think  I  would  leave-  you 
till  I  see  you  free  ? " 

"  Nay,  lad,"  said  the  old  man  very  gently, 
"you'll  let  me  have  my  own  way  i'  this  matter, 
I  know.  I  've  seen  you ;  and  you  know  I  'm 
pretty  safe  as  it  is.  Unless  things  take  a  bad 
turn  for  that  young  Gasparo,  they  can't  do 
much  worse  to  me  than  shut  me  up  in  prison 
for  a  bit.  And  that 's  nothing." 

He  started  up  to  his  feet,  and  began  pacing 
backwards  and  forwards  between  the  four  walls 
of  the  narrow  cell. 

"The  plan's  miscarried.  It  may  have  been 
a  good  one  or  a  bad  one,  but  we  know  where 
the  orders  came  from,  and  it  was  n't  our  place  to 
judge  of  that.  And  I  don't  judge  of  it.  I've 
chosen  my  place  in  Irfe,  and  I  '11  abide  by  it  to 
the  end.  When  a  man  has  meant  anything 
strongly,  there's  never  any  real  going  back 
again  for  him.  It  is  n't  the  failure  or  the  suc- 
cess, it's  the  purpose,  the  will  that  is  in  him, 
that  makes  the  difference." 

He  stopped,  leaning  against  the  wall  beneath 
the  grated  window. 


VESTIGIA    NULLA   RETRORSUM.       285 

"  What  is  the  whole  teaching  of  daily  life,  my 
Dino,  if  it  is  not  to  accept  the  material  success 
—  le  fait  accompli — as  if  it  were  a  very  law 
from  Heaven  ?  Not  to  do  that,  they  tell  us,  is  to 
be  a  fool  or  a  madman  ;  it  is  to  shut  one's  eyes 
against  evidence,  and  one's  ears  against  com- 
mon-sense ;  to  wear  out  friendship  and  to  forfeit 
sympathy.  That 's  the  lesson  you  may  learn  at 
any  street  corner,  and,  if  you  listen,  you  will 
hear  it  cried  out  in  the  wilderness.  It 's  what 
your  old  fisher  friend,  how  do  you  call  him  ?  old 
Andrea,  has  preached  to  you.  'T  is  the  Alpha 
and  Omega  of  many  a  good  man's  philosophy. 
But  I,"  the  old  socialist  drew  himself  up,  and 
his  eyes  flashed  fire,  "  I  think  otherwise.  To 
me,  half  the  time,  material  success,  and  what 
society  teaches,  and  what  poverty  enjoins,  are 
but  the  negation  of  every  high  ideal,  of  every 
disinterested  protest  against  injustice,  of  every 
struggle  against  social  tyranny  and  bitter  social 
wrong.  That 's  my  creed,  lad.  That 's  my 
creed,  and,  good  or  bad,  I  '11  never  turn  my  back 
upon  it.  No  !  not  if  I  had  to  spend  every  hour 
of  my  existence  here  !  " 

"  I  wish  to  God  that  I  could  do  more  than 
merely  understand  you ;  I  wish  to  God  that  I 
were  capable  of  feeling  with  you,  believing  with 
you,  Valdez." 

"  Nay,  lad,  you  Ve  tried  ;  you  've  done  your 


286  VESTIGIA. 

best.  And  when  you  found  you  'd  undertaken 
more  than  you  could  well  accomplish,  still  you 
went  on,  —  you  went  on.  To  be  faithful,  my 
Dino,  to  keep  faith  simply  and  joyously,  is  to 
reach  and  hold  the  essential  best  of  life.  But 
to  keep  faith  at  any  price,  in  any  fashion  ;  to  do 
it  even  grudgingly,  counting  the  cost,  looking 
back  at  the  world  with  all  its  temptations,  yet, 
even  then,  moving  away  from  them,  however 
slowly  —  well,  even  that  is  enough  to  give  some 
touch  of  divine  dignity  to  a  life.  It  is  reaching 
the  end  without  the  glow  of  the  triumph,  but 
still  the  end  is  reached.  We  can't  all  of  us 
claim  the  praise  as  well  as  the  victory,  and  yet 
the  victory  is  there." 

He  spoke  with  all  the  force  and  fervor  of  a 
life-long  conviction.  The  faint  light  streaming 
in  at  the  small  high  window  gave  a  solemn  look 
of  isolation  to  the  narrow  room  ;  it  seemed  a 
fitting  background  for  the  worn,  undaunted 
face. 

But  presently  the  old  man's  glance  softened. 
He  held  out  both  his  hands. 

"  You  're  young,  lad,  you  're  young,  and  all 
the  best  of  life's  before  you.  It  makes  me 
glad  to  think  of  that  still.  For  you  've  made 
a  great  difference  in  my  life,  Dino.  And  it 
hurt  me,  ay,  it  hurt  me  to  think  that  I  had 
injured  yours." 


VESTIGIA   NULLA   RETRORSUM.       287 

"Valdez  —  if  I  'm  ever  worth  anything  —  if  I 
ever  learn  to  believe  unreservedly  in  anything  — 
Oh,  I  can't  say  it.  But  you  know  what  I  mean  ; 
—  I  owe  it  all  to  you." 

They  grasped  one  another's  hands  hard,  as  the 
key  turned  harshly  in  the  lock  of  the  door  be- 
hind them.  They  spoke  no  word  of  farewell. 

Palmira  was  waiting  for  Dino  in  the  jailer's 
lodge  by  the  entrance.  The  child  gave  one 
quick  anxious  look  into  her  brother's  quivering 
face,  then  she  slipped  her  hand  quietly  into  his 
without  speaking.  Both  were  silent  until  they 
stood  outside  the  iron  gates.  Then  Dino  stood 
still.  He  was  weak  yet,  and  confused  from  the 
fever.  He  could  scarcely  understand  how  much 
of  what  was  passing  around  him  was  real.  He 
stood  there  hesitating  ;  surely  it  was  no  delusion 
that  he  had  pledged  his  very  life  away  ?  Yet  he 
stood  there,  a  free  man,  in  the  April  sunlight, 
with  the  hand  of  a  little  child  in  his ;  and  behind 
him  was  the  prison  door. 

He  crossed  over  to  the  small  piazza  ;  he  went 
and  sat  on  a  wooden  bench  beside  the  fountain  ; 
it  wanted  an  hour  yet  to  the  time  of  the  starting 
of  the  Leghorn  train. 

"Are  we  not  going  back  now,  my  Dino,  to 
Italia  ? "  Palmira  asked,  after  a  long  pause, 
eying  him  anxiously. 

"  Ay." 


288  VESTIGIA. 

He  answered  like  a  man  in  a  dream.  And  it 
was  a  dream  of  coming  joy  which  held  him  si- 
lent ;  a  vision  of  flood-tides  filling  all  the  empty 
places  of  existence  ;  a  happy  vision  of  love, 
strong  to  conceal  and  strong  to  forget ;  —  of 
Italia,  waiting  by  the  sea. 


University  Press:   John  Wilson  &  Son,  Cambridge. 


THREE    NEW    NOVELS 

BY   THREE  OF   THE    MOST   POPULAR    "  NO    NAME  "   AUTHORS. 


I. 

THE  HEAD   OF  MEDUSA.     By  GEORGE  FLEMING,  author 
of  "  Kismet  "  and  "Mirage." 

II. 

BY    THE    TIBER.      By   the    author   of    "  Signor    Monalclini's 
Niece." 

III. 

BLESSED    SAINT    CERTAINTY.      By  the   author  of  "His 
Majesty,  Myself." 


ROBERTS   BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 
Boston. 


Messrs.  Roberts  Brothers'  Publications. 
THE    "NO   NAME"    (SECOND)    SERIES. 

HIS  MAJESTY,  MYSELF. 

"  The  last  '  No  Name '  novel  cannot  long  remain  anonymous.  '  His  Majesty, 
Myselt'  is  so  remarkable  a  piece  ot  work  (hat  its  author  must  be  known.  The  title- 
page  is  concise  and  brilliant,  the  opening  chapters  are  concise  and  brilliant ; 
powerfully  drawn  characters  come  and  go  in  the  story ;  brilliancy  gives  place  tc 
pathos,  pathos  deepens  into  tragedy,  tragedy  is  relieved  by  wit,  wit  softened  by 
tenderness.  Scenes  of  the  homeliest  simplicity  alternate  with  those  of  the  most 
intense  emotion  and  terrible  anguish.  Characters  are  dissected,  are  analyzed  with 
consummate  skill ;  events  told  with  masterly  dramatic  power  ;  shams  are  riddled 
with  arrows  of  scorn ;  the  hidden  things  in  human  hearts  are  set  in  the  light,  and 
readers  are  forced  to  judge  themselves  in  this  powerful  revelation  of  human 
nature."  — Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

"The  last  novel  of  the  '  No  Name  Series'  has  made  a  decided  sensation.  It 
gives  the  most  graphic  and  scathing  description  of  the  result  of  sensational 
preaching  —  of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  with  Christ  left  out  It  is  a 
thoroughly  manly  and  healthy  book  to  read.  Joseph  Cook,  at  a  late  Boston  Con- 
ference, spoke  of  it  thus  :  '  I  nave  just  read  "  His  Majesty,  Myself."  It  is  a  power- 
ful and  manly  book  from  beginning  to  end.  It  is  full  of  bright,  keen  Orthodoxy.' 
This  is  high  praise,  but  none  too  high.  The  author,  whoever  he  be,  is  an  Ortho- 
dox evangelical  Christian,  who  has  iron  in  his  blood  and  brain,  and  who  writer 
with  a  gold  pen,  diamoiid-tipt.  Old  Princetonians  will  find  among  its  characters  . 
some  acquaintances  and  friends,  professors  and  students."  —  The  Presbyterian. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  strongest  novels  the  present  year  has  produced.  The 
course  of  a  sensational  clergyman  who  gives  his  flock  truth  garnered  from  the 
newspapers  instead  of  from  the  Bible,  and  proclaims  himself  far  more  thnn  his  ' 
Lord,  is  thinkingly  depicted.  The  whole  book  is  one  of  the  keenest  descriptions 
of  the  terrible  nature  of  selfishness  we  have  ever  read,  and  if  it  is  not  marked  in- 
stantly as  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  most  remarkable  series  to  which  it 
belongs,  we  shall  be  greatly  surprised."  —  Christian  Intelligencer. 

"  No  one  will  take  exception  to  the  statement  that  '  His  Majesty,  Myself,'  the 
latest  '  No  Name '  novel,  is  a  powerful  book  It  is  a  work  which  is  as  marked  in 
vigor  as  it  is  in  originality.  No  one  but  a  man  cf  genius  could  have  written  it. 
No  person  can  read  it  without  receiving  a  marked  impression.  It  is  one  of  'hose 
stories  which  must  remain  in  the  memory,  and  this  long  after  tales  whicl.  have 
more  of  unity  and  are  much  more."  —  Saturday  Evening  Gazette. 

"  As  an  exhibit  of  sound  religion?  'hinking  and  pure  religious  feeling,  as  far  re- 
moved from  Moose  notions'  and  weak  sentiment  on  the  one  side  as  from  rtea a 
tormalism  and  cold  cant  on  the  other,  it  has  few  equals.  He  has  written  a  Fifui 
Gospel,  and  we  reckon  him  a  true  evange'ist,"  says  •»  retired  clergyman. 

Iti  one  volume,  IGmo.     Green  cloth.    Price  81.00. 

Our  publications  are  to  be  had  of  all  Booksellers.     When  not 
'.o  be  found,  send  directly  to  the  Publishers, 

ROBERTS   BROTHERS,   Boston. 


THE   "NO   NAME   SERIES." 


KISMET.    A  Nile  Novel 

Opinions,   generous   tributes  to  genius,  by  well-known   authors 
•whose  names  are  withheld. 

"  Well,  I  have  read  '  Kismet,'  and  it  is  certainly  rery  remarkable.  The 
story  is  interesting,  —  any  well-told  love  story  is,  you  know,  —  bat  the  book  itself  is 
a  great  deal  more  so.  Descriptively  and  sentimentally,  —  I  use  the  word  with 
entire  respect,  —  it  is,  in  spots,  fairly  exquisite.  It  seems  to  me  all  glowing  and 
overflowing  with  what  the  French  call  beciutt  du  diablt.  ,  .  .  The  conversa- 
tions are  very  clever,  and  the  wit  is  often  astonishingly  like  the  wit  of  an  accom- 
plished man  of  the  world.  One  thing  which  seems  to  me  to  show  promise  — 
great  promise,  if  you  will  —  for  the  future  is  that  the  author  can  not  only  repro- 
duce the  conversation  of  one  brilliant  man,  but  can  make  two  men  talk  together  as 
if  they  were  men,  —  not  women  in  manly  clothes." 

"  It  is  a  charming  book.  I  have  read  it  twice,  and  looked  it  over  again,  and 
I  wish  I  had  it  all  new  to  sit  up  with  to-night.  It  is  so  fresh  and  sweet  and  inno- 
cent and  joyous,  the  dialogue  is  so  natural  and  bright,  the  characters  so  keenly 
edged,  and  the  descriptions  so  poetic.  I  don't  know  when  I  have  enjoyed 
any  thing  more,  —  never  since  I  went  sailing  up  the  Nile  with  Harriet  Martineau. 
...  You  must  give  the  author  love  and  greeting  from  one  of  the  fraternity. 
The  hand  that  gives  as  tfcis  pleasure  will  give  us  plenty  more  of  an  improving 
quality  every  year,  I  think.' '  • 

"  '  Kismet '  is  indeed  a  delightful  story,  the  best  of  the  series  undoubtedly." 

"  If  '  Kismet '  is  the  first  work  of  a  young  lady,  as  reported,  it  shows  a  great 
gift  of  language,  and  powers  of  description  and  of  insight  into  character  and  life 
quite  uncommon.  ...  Of  the  whole  series  so  far,  I  think  '  Mercy  Philbrick'g 
Choice '  is  the  best,  because  it  has,  beside  literary  merit,  some  moral  tone  and 
vigor.  Still  there  are  capabilities  in  the  writer  of  '  Kismet '  even  higher  than  in 
that  of  the  writer  of  '  Mercy  Philbrick's  Choice.'  " 

"  I  liked  it  extremely.  It  is  the  best  in  the  series  so  far,  except  in  con- 
struction, in  which  Ms  That  All?'  slight  as  k  is,  seems  to  me  superior. 
'  Kismet '  is  winning  golden  opinions  everywhere.  I  have  nothing  but  praises 
for  it,  and  have  nothing  but  praise  to  give  it." 

"  I  have  read  '  Kismet '  once,  and  mean  to  read  it  again  It  is  thorough!*' 
charming,  and  will  be  a  success." 

One  volume,  bound  in  cardinal  red  and  black.    Price  81.OO. 


Our  publications  are  to  be  had  of  all  booksellers.     When  not 
to  be  found,  send  directly  to 

ROBERTS   BROTHERS,    Publishers,  Boston. 


"NO    NAME    SERIES." 


MIRAGE. 

"  Is  in  many  respects  superior  to  '  Kismet.'  The  story  is  told  with  great  care,  the 
«tyle  is  more  earnest  and  more  vigorous  than  that  of  '  Kismet,'  the  feeling  is  deeper, 
the  tone  higher,  the  execution  smoother,  the  author  more  confident  of  herself,  and 
apparently  conscious  of  increasing  strength,"  says  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

"  The  author  is  to  be  congratulated  on  having  made  progress  in  novel-writing,  for 
'  Mirage'  is  certainly  an  improvement  on  '  Kismet,'  and,  above  all,  it  is  a  work  sui 
generis"  says  the  London  A thenteitm. 

"It  was  only  to  be  expected,  and  even  more  to  be  hoped,  that  the  author  of 
1  Kismet '  would  make  a  second  attempt  in  a  field  similar  to  that  in  which  his  first 
laurels  were  won.  We  are  happy  to  say  that  fresh  ground  has  been  broken  with 
remarkable  success,  and  that  '  Mirage '  may  fairly  rank  beside  its  fascinating  prede- 
cessor," says  the  London  Court  Journal. 

"  Here,  too,  we  have  a  group  of  Americans  who  '  do '  Syria  instead  of  Egypt. 
Those  readers  —  and  their  number  has  been  many  —  who  found  a  charm  in  '  Kismet ' 
may  take  up  '  Mirage'  without  fear  of  disappointment,"  says  the  London  Graphic. 

"  '  Mirage'  is  by  the  author  of  '  Kismet,'  so,  of  course,  we  are  spared  the  trouble 
of  guessing.  It  may  be  set  beside  the  latter  work,  as  the  two  best  novels  of  the 
'  No  Name  Series.'  .  .  .  The  work,  in  some  essential  particulars,  shows  an  advance 
on  '  Kismet.'  The  style  is  firmer  and  more  assured,  and  the  characters  exhibit  a 
better  subordination  to  the  author's  design.  These  will  not  be  the  last  works  from 
the  same  pen :  the  author  is  not  mistaken  in  her  vocation,"  says  the  New  York 
'friiune. 

"We  had  occasion,  some  months  since,  to  speak  of  'Kismet'  as  a  clever  and 
promising  novel ;  and  we  are  happy  to  be  able  to  say  that  the  au'hor  of  '  Kismet'  has 
redeemed  the  pledge  of  that  work  with  even  greater  promptness  than  was  to  be 
expected.  '  Mirage'  strikes  us  as  very  clever  indeed,  and  as  a  decided  advance  upon 
its  predecessor.  .  .  .  Great  charm  of  description,  a  great  deal  of  fineness  of  observation, 
a  great  deal  of  wit  in  the  conversations,  a  constant  facility  and  grace  of  style,  —  these 
good  points  are  decidedly  more  noticeable.  .  .  .  The  present  book  is  infinitely  fresher 
and  wittier  than  ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the  novels  periodically  emitted  by  the 
regular  group  of  English  fiction-mongers,"  says  the  New  York  Nation. 

In  one  volume,  16mo.    Cloth.    Gilt  and  red-lettered.    91.00. 


Our  publications  are  to  be  had  of  all  Booksellers.     When 
not  to  be  found,  send  directly  to  the  Publisher0, 

ROBERTS   BROTHERS,  BOSTON. 


